Heroes and Legacies Book 3: Timeline
by pegasusdmac
Summary: A weekend getaway turns into the quest of a lifetime when CJ and the gang are transported back in time some 25 years. They must help their parents defeat the titans without creating a temporal paradox then find a way back to the future. Can it be done without rewriting history?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: So I know I said I'd have this up a lot sooner, but I've been in and out of doctor's offices and hospitals for the past three weeks with severe pneumonia. I've wanted to work on this fic, but it's been really hard to concentrate with a fever and being loaded up on meds. I'm finally beginning to feel better, though, and I've been able to get to work on this fic. Enjoy. -dmac **

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.**

1. Getaway

Bored. I was bored out of my mind, and if I was going stir-crazy, then the other 150 campers that had ADHD were going nuts.

I'd heard of slow summers at Camp Half-Blood, but this was the first time I'd actually experienced one. It was the middle of August and not a thing had happened all summer: no quests, no attacks, no Rebellion stirring up trouble. It was boring, and Jason being gone out looking for his son the whole summer made it even worse.

Russ was filling in for Jason as trainer, which kept me out of the arena a lot. Russ wanted to kill me after what happened last summer. He blamed me for Lexie breaking up with him for reasons I still can't figure out. Lexie said he was jealous of our friendship, and with jealousy being Russ' fatal flaw, that made it easy for him to put the blame on me. Whatever, it wasn't my fault.

"Focus, CJ," Lexie said as I aimed an arrow at a balloon that was swaying in the light breeze.

"I can't focus if you keep distracting me."

"Do you honestly think that in the heat of battle a monster is just going to stop and let you concentrate for a minute before you shoot?" she asked.

"Do you honestly think I'm ever going to carry a bow into battle? I mean, seriously?"

She rolled her eyes, pulled three arrows from her quiver, knocked them, then fired, popping three swaying balloons while never once taking her eyes off me. Damn, that girl was good. She made the best archers at camp look like beginners. Chiron said she was the best archery student he'd ever had, and that's saying something. He'd been training heroes for thousands of years.

"Cheater," I said.

She put a hand on her hip and asked, "How did I cheat?"

"Apollo's your dad. It gives you an unfair advantage."

After archery lessons, I was off to train with Noah, which had pretty much been my daily routine this summer: training, lunch, training, supper, bed- with the occasional chariot race or game of capture the flag thrown in. It was a lot like school, going to the same classes at the same time everyday. Actually, I was sort of looking forward to going back to school. At least there I had baseball, but then again, school meant seeing Nic everyday, too.

Things between me and Nic had been awkward since the incident in Marathon last summer. We weren't close like we used to be, which sucked, but I guess I could understand her apprehension with me. I know being kidnapped then rescued by me when a bomb blew up a bank freaked her out.

Every time I thought things were getting better between us, something would happen: I'd see something through the Mist or she'd catch me talking to myself (which was usually an IM) then she'd draw away from me again. By the end of the school year, I'd come to the conclusion that I'd lost any hope of having any kind of relationship with Nic. It upset me, but surprisingly, not as much as I thought it would. I think Dad might've been right about a certain young lady at camp holding more of my attention than Nic did.

"Well, tell me this, hypothetically…" I began.

Noah side-stepped my sword that I'd jabbed at his shoulder and groaned, "Oh, I feel a nightmare coming on."

"It's not that bad, and it's only a hypothetical."

"Fine," he grumbled. "Spill."

I told him my plan.

He held up a hand, pausing our sparing match. "You're not serious?" he asked.

"Don't I sound serious?"

"CJ, we can't just leave camp and go on vacation because you want to impress Lexie. It's against the rules to leave camp without a quest, anyway."

"I'm not trying to impress her," I insisted.

"Listen, I know you like her, but she's already had her heart broken. I'm not sure if she's ready for a new relationship yet."

I rolled my eyes, "Thank you, counselor."

"If you want, I could ask around camp," he offered. "I'm sure I could get you a date with someone."

"I don't want you to get me a girl, Noah. What is this? Vegas? And seriously, this isn't about Lexie. I'm bored with this mundane routine, and I know you are, too. Think about it: me, you, Morgan, and Lexie having fun on the beach at Montauk for a couple of days. Even if it is against the rules, where's the harm in it?"

I spent most of the summer in the archery range and spear range training with Lexie and Noah. And when I wasn't with them, I spent time with Jade since this would be her last summer at camp. She'd gotten a scholarship to play basketball at the University of Tennessee.

Jade left camp on the third day of August, a few weeks earlier than the rest of us would, so she could spend some time with her mom, then get settled into her dorm on campus. It was hard to say goodbye to Jade, especially when she broke down crying like a baby. She was the closest thing I'd had to a sister, and I was just getting used to the clutter in cabin three, and now she was gone. I had a clean cabin all to myself, and I hated it.

I changed into some clean clothes and kicked back on my bunk for a few minutes, waiting for dinnertime. The one thing I couldn't get out of my mind about the summer was the lack of the Rebellion trying to cause some sort of ruckus. It was odd considering they were our greatest foe at the moment, and they were notorious for their brazen moves against not only Camp Half-Blood, but the Roman camp and other groups of demigods, as well. I was just waiting for the shoe to drop, waiting for their surprise attack…which, now two weeks until the end of the summer, still hadn't happened.

"I heard a rumor," Morgan said as she strolled up alongside me as I walked toward the dining pavilion.

"Oh, and what would that be?" I asked her.

"That you're wantin' to play hooky this weekend."

"That's not true," I lied, only because I get great satisfaction in annoying the little twerp of an oracle.

"The hell it ain't," she said. "I know damn good and well you are; Noah done told me. And I'm goin', too. I sure as hell ain't gonna let you pull a great escape without me."

"I didn't think Noah wanted to go," I said.

She rolled her eyes, "Oh, come on. Noah will follow you and me anywhere. He's like a puppy."

"That's mean," I said.

"What?" she shrugged. "I like puppies. Puppies are cute."

"You're comparing a son of the titan Prometheus to a puppy?"

"At least I didn't compare him to a possum." She looked me up and down. "You're more like a possum."

I stopped in my tracks. "How am I a possum?"

"Well, for starters, you play dead every time you even get near Lexie."

"I do not! I was just training with her earlier."

"But that's all you ever do is train. Ask the girl out, kiss her, do somethin'. You like her. I know you do, you know you do…we all know. Balls-up and get the girl."

"It's not that simple," I sighed. And it wasn't. Lexie was my friend, and like Noah said, she might not be ready for a relationship yet. It would be awkward to ask my friend out or kiss her if she didn't like me back like that. With my luck, I'd just screw up our friendship, and I didn't want that even if it meant I'd never get the girl.

I sat alone at my table in the dining pavilion dodging peas that Morgan was flicking at me with her spoon. That was her way of pestering me into going through with my plan to get away for the weekend. Morgan wasn't one for rules, only for breaking them, and this little plan to sneak away from camp was right up her alley. I also knew it'd be right up Lexie's alley, too. Her fearlessness wouldn't let her back down from it. All I'd have to do was tell her about the plan, and she'd be on board in a heartbeat.

I caught up with Lexie as we walked toward the amphitheatre for the nightly campfire and sing-along. "Hey, I wanted to ask you something," I said to her as we walked.

"What's up?" she asked.

"I was thinking about going to Montauk this weekend," I replied.

"With your parents?"

I shook my head, "No, I was thinking just me, you, Noah, and Morgan could go."

She smirked, "I see. You want to sneak away from camp."

I returned her smirk, "You in?"

"Of course, I'm in."

"Good," I smiled. "We'll meet at the van shed at six in the morning."

When I got back to my cabin after the campfire, I packed a bag and tried to get some sleep. My excitement and nerves kept me awake, though. I was nervous, because it was against the rules to leave camp, and I didn't want to get busted before we even got out. I was also excited about going to Montauk. I hadn't been to our family vacation home there in two years. I missed it. I had some really good times there in the summer months with my parents when I was growing up. Mom and I used to pitch horseshoes while Dad grilled steaks. Dad taught me how to sail on a little catamaran in the bay when I was barely old enough to attend school. And one of my favorite things was building elaborate sand castles with Mom on the beach while Dad used his power over water to fill the moats around the sand castles. It was all very Lifetime now that I really think about it. The occasional monster attack on the beach wasn't even enough to tarnish those good memories. I have to admit, I've had it pretty good in my life, even though that life is tainted by the gods.

My alarm rang at 5:30 a.m. I'm not usually a morning person. As a matter of fact, I'm never a morning person. I like my sleep. That morning though, I was ready to go. I quickly threw on my board shorts and a t-shirt, grabbed my pack, Mets cap, and sunglasses, then headed out the door of cabin three. I eased my way through camp, sticking to the shadows to stay unnoticed as I made my way to the camp's border. Not many campers are up before six a.m., so it was easy to make it to the van shed without being seen. When I got there, Lexie was already there waiting, which was no surprise. Unlike me, she is a morning person. Family curse, I guess.

She certainly looked like she was ready for a vacation. She wore a pair of cutoff jeans and tank over her bikini, flops, and a pair of gold-rimmed aviator sunglasses that looked almost too big for her face. Her army-green pack sat at her feet and her trusty bow in hair-pin form was holding her hair up in a loose bun. Did I mention she was gorgeous?

"Where's Noah and Morgan?" she asked as she looked at the sports watch on her left wrist.

"We're here," I heard Noah's voice over my shoulder.

I turned to see Noah and Morgan strolling toward the shed. They were dressed for the beach, too.

"CJ," Morgan said. "You didn't tell me we were also gonna steal a van or I woulda got here early to hotwire it."

"Sorry, Morgan, but we're not stealing a van," I said.

"Damn," she sighed. She's definitely a granddaughter of Hermes.

"What are we taking then?" Lexie asked.

I walked three stalls over in the shed and pulled a green tarp off an automobile. It was my Jeep.

"Where did you get that?" Noah asked wide-eyed.

"It was my sixteenth birthday present. I drove it to camp this summer," I explained.

Morgan, Lexie, and Noah looked over the old navy blue Jeep my parents bought me.

"I thought your parents were rich," Morgan said. "They couldn't afford to get you somethin' nicer?" She's such a charmer.

I'd already destroyed Mom's Volvo last summer, and she ended up having to get a new car because of it. She thought it was practical that I just got an old, cheap, clunker for my first car, because- her words: "He's a teenager, and he's just going to wreck it anyway." My dad agreed, and statistically, they were right. So, I ended up with a Jeep Wrangler that was nearly as old as I was.

"What?" I shrugged. "It's a classic."

"Does it even run?" she asked.

I grinned, "Like a scalded dog."

"I like it," Lexie smiled. "Can we take the top off?"

I had the soft top on it because it was raining the day I drove to camp, but now there was no reason for a top. I nodded to Lexie, and all four of us began taking the top off of my Jeep.

"Shotgun!" Lexie called as we began piling in.

Noah was in the backseat buckling his seatbelt when he said, "I hope you guys realize how much trouble we're going to be in when we get back."

"Oh, it won't be that bad, Noah," Lexie said. "We'll probably be on dish duty for the rest of the summer, but that's only two more weeks."

"And besides," Morgan nudged Noah's shoulder with her own. "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to get permission."

I looked at Morgan through the rearview mirror. "Is that like your motto or something?" I teased.

She grinned, "Words to live by, CJ. Words to live by."


	2. Chapter 2

2. Vacation at Montauk

Montauk has always been a special place for my family. My grandmother, Sally (who I call Nana) met my grandfather, Poseidon, on the beach at Montauk. Nana and Dad used to vacation there when he was a kid. Mom and Dad got married on that same beach. And I spent my summers there with my parents when I was growing up.

My parents bought an old, run-down shack in Montauk when I was two years-old. By the time I was three, that property had been torn down and a new beach cabin had been built in its place. Mom designed the cabin and kept it simple: three small bedrooms, two baths, a small kitchen, and living room. She designed it for what it was- a vacation home for a small family. I think she had two kids in mind when it was built, but alas, I ended up being an only child.

"Well, this is it," I said to my friends as I pulled up to the beach house my parents own.

Lexie lifted her sunglasses and rested them on top of her head as she stared at the bluish-gray, weathered-wood house. "It hasn't changed a bit," she smiled. She and her mother spent a few weekends here with me and my parents back when they lived in Manhattan eight years ago.

"What are we waitin' for?" Morgan said excitedly as she hopped out of my Jeep and headed toward the front door.

"Morgan!" I called. She turned to me, and I tossed her the door key. "No breaking and entering," I teased.

She caught the key and pouted, "You're no fun."

We all went into the house, and I gave Noah and Morgan the dime tour. The house wasn't big, so it didn't take long. After the tour, I found Lexie staring out the back door, which was a sliding glass door facing the beach. She had a strange look on her face, a look she'd been wearing most of the drive. It wasn't really a worried look, but I could tell something was off with her.

I stepped beside her and asked, "What is it?"

"Hmm?"

"You look like something's bothering you."

She shrugged, "It's nothing. I just had a strange dream last night, and it's been bugging me. That's all."

"Dreaming about monsters?" I asked. Heroes tend to have visions of monsters and battles, premonitions in dream-form sent to us by the Fates.

She shook her head, "Not monsters, not exactly. I mean, I see a battle, but something's not right about it. It's like I'm there in the fight, but I'm not supposed to be."

"Strange," I said. "What do you think it means?"

She sighed, "I don't know, CJ."

"There's no food!" I heard Noah cry from the kitchen.

"No one's been here in over a year, Noah," I laughed as I walked into the kitchen. "We'll have to drive to the market up the road to get some groceries."

Morgan gave me a skeptical look. "You're gonna cook?"

"Hey, I'm a pretty decent cook. And I know Noah's a good cook."

Morgan grinned a little, "He does make good pancakes."

Noah blushed, "Um, thanks."

We had an awesome day on the beach. We boogie boarded and swam, played a little two on two beach volleyball- the girls kicked mine and Noah's asses, and Morgan and I played catch on the beach with two old baseball gloves I found in the house. She was a softball fanatic, which was about her only redeeming quality. She was good with a glove, too, an infielder, like me.

It was getting pretty late in the afternoon when our stomachs finally demanded we get some food. Noah and I hopped in my Jeep and headed to the market.

"Well, it was worth sneaking away, wasn't it?" I asked.

Noah smiled and nodded, "Heck yes, it was. I had a blast today. You're so lucky to have a place like this. I bet it was awesome spending summers here with your parents when you were younger."

It was, but I didn't want to make a big deal of it. I knew Noah's childhood wasn't anything like mine had been. "Yeah," I said simply.

Noah spent his childhood on the run with his mother. His father, Prometheus, was after them. When Noah was nine, his mother finally brought him to camp to hide him from his father. His mother disappeared after that, and he hadn't seen her since.

Noah didn't really have a childhood, not in the normal sense anyway. I imagine camp was the most stability he'd ever had. Things had changed for him in the past year, though. He'd become really close to Uncle Nico and Aunt Rachel, and he attended a boarding school in New Jersey now.

"CJ," he said. "Can I tell you something?"

I pulled into a parking space at the market and turned off the Jeep. "Sure, Noah. What is it?"

"I…" he hesitated. "I've been dreaming about my father."

_Whoa_.

"Um," I blinked. "Bad dreams?"

He shook his head, "No, not bad, just vague. He's looking at me funny, and he keeps saying 'you're not supposed to be here.' That's it; it's so weird."

"How many times have you had this dream?" I asked.

"Three times."

Okay, so both Lexie and Noah were having weird dreams. That didn't bode well. I knew it was a warning of some kind, but a warning for what? I'd need to talk to Morgan about it. Maybe the oracle would have some insight, but until then, I didn't want Noah to worry about it too much.

"It may be nothing, since it's so vague," I said.

"You may be right," he nodded, but he didn't look convinced. "Come on. Let's get some food. I'm starving."

Two hungry teenage guys grocery shopping wasn't very smart, I admit. We filled the cart with tons of food, and I put the nearly three hundred dollar grocery bill on the emergency credit card my parents had given me- also not a smart move, seeing as how it wasn't really an emergency. I'm not sure why we bought so much food. It's not like the four of us could've eaten it all in the next two days. Everything on the shelves just looked so delicious.

Before we left the market, I noticed a flyer taped to the glass door. "Check it out, Noah," I pointed at the flyer.

"What is it?" he asked.

I read the print on the flyer, "Third Annual Long Island Artists Music Festival at Camp Hero State Park, August fourteenth through eighteenth. Free to the public."

"Where's Camp Hero?" Noah asked.

"About ten miles up the road," I said. "What do you think? Music fest tomorrow?"

Noah smiled, "Sounds like a plan to me."

When Noah and I got back to the house, Lexie and Morgan already had the charcoal burning in the grill, and had a table cloth covering the picnic table. The girls helped us carry in the sacks of food, teasing us about how much we'd bought.

Morgan made some to-die-for southern sweet tea, Noah and Lexie baked potatoes and heated up some green beans, and I threw some steaks and corn on the cob still in the husks on the grill.

Morgan brought me a glass of iced tea and sat down at the picnic table while I was turning the steaks.

"Hey, Morgan," I said, but she didn't answer. I turned and noticed she had her iPod out and earbuds in her ears. "Morgan!" I yelled.

She turned off the music. "You talkin' to me?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm talking to you."

"Well, what do ya want?" she sounded annoyed.

"You haven't been having any visions, any premonitions lately, have you?" I asked.

She scrolled through her playlist, nearly ignoring me. "Nope," she said.

"Nothing? The Oracle's all quiet?"

She was still focused on her iPod. "Yep, all quiet," she said, but there was an edge to her voice like she might've been lying.

"I think you're lying to me."

She finally looked up at me, her eyes narrowed. "I ain't had any visions, CJ," she insisted.

I still didn't believe her, but I couldn't force the truth out of her. She was too stubborn for that. I had no choice but to let it go. I shrugged and turned back to the grill, "If you say so."

Just before sunset, we piled our plates high with the feast that we'd cooked ourselves and sat at the picnic table eating and laughing. It was nice to be able to sit at the same table as my friends while we ate. It wasn't like that at camp. The only company I had at mealtime at camp was Jade; we both sat at the Poseidon table, but now that Jade was gone, I ate alone.

"So," Lexie said between bites. "Noah tells me there's a music fest tomorrow."

I nodded, "Yeah, at Camp Hero. You guys want to go?"

We all agreed that the music fest sounded like fun, and we decided to go. After supper, Noah built a fire in the pit on the beach behind the house, and we all sat around it having our own little personal campfire instead of the usual packed campfire at the amphitheatre.

Lexie sat down beside me and leaned back against the driftwood log I was leaning on. She nudged my shoulder with hers. "The steaks were great," she complimented my supreme grilling skills.

"Thanks," I said as I gave her a stick and marshmallow that needed roasting.

Noah and Morgan, sitting across the fire from us, erupted in laughter when Morgan's flaming marshmallow fell into the fire. "What do you make of those two?" Lexie asked me, nodding toward them.

"Er, opposites attract," I guessed.

"I think they'd make a good couple," Lexie said. "They'd balance each other out, I think."

"I don't know if they'll ever get together," I said. "I'm not sure if Morgan likes Noah like that. I know Noah has a crush on her, he always has, but I don't know if Morgan feels the same way."

Lexie smiled, "I think she likes him. I think it's just a matter of time until they get together."

"Speaking of couples," I began. "How are you holding up since, you know, you and Russ…"

"I'm okay."

"Really? I mean, you know you can talk to me if you're having a hard time."

"I'm fine, CJ, really. It was tough for a while, but it's been a year now, and I've moved past it. I'm doing all right."

"I just worry about you sometimes," I told her. "And I want you to be happy, you know."

She rested her head on my shoulder, and my heart did a little break-dance in my chest. "I know," she breathed.

It was nearly midnight when the fire finally died down, and we were all so exhausted that we were close to passing out on the beach. We hauled ourselves into the house and scattered. Lexie took the guest room where she had slept when she was just eight, Morgan took my parent's room, Noah slept in my room, and I took the couch.

As soon as my head hit the pillow, I drifted off into dreamland. In my dream, I was standing in an enormous throne room. I'd never been to Olympus before, but somehow I knew that's where I was. It was eerily quiet. Every throne was empty, and only one god occupied the room. Hestia shivered near her hearth fire that was barely even burning. I took a step toward her, and it echoed throughout the throne room. She turned her head and looked toward me. I bowed to the goddess.

"You," she said with surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Um, I'm not sure," I replied.

"You shouldn't be here," she said, the urgency in her voice bordering on panic. "It's not time for you to be here."

"What should I do?" I asked her.

"Leave," she said. "And tell no one you were here. Ever."


	3. Chapter 3

3. Camp Hero State Park

After a delicious breakfast that Lexie and Noah cooked, and after everyone showered and got around, we headed to Camp Hero State Park for the music fest. Camp Hero wasn't far, only about a ten minute drive, and we got there early enough to get a good parking space.

"What is this place, exactly?" Noah asked as we walked toward the large open area of the park where the stages were set up. It was several acres of open grass field dotted with shade trees that sat about three hundred yards inland from the bay.

"It used to be the site of the Montauk Air Force Station, believe it or not. Now it's just a public park and recreation area. There's a museum and information center over by the camp grounds. It's pretty neat, especially the conspiracy theory stuff."

Noah's eyebrows shot up. "Conspiracy theory?"

I nodded, "Allegedly, when the Air Force base was open, it was the test site for secret government projects like experimental psychological warfare and time travel. It was called the Montauk Project."

Morgan's eyes widened. "You're kiddin'?"

I shook my head, "Nope. It's actually kinda spooky over by the old abandoned radar stations. Very X-Files."

Lexie rolled her eyes, "You don't actually believe all that top-secret government conspiracies crap, do you?"

"Oh, don't tell me you're a skeptic, _daughter of a god_."

"Don't tell me you're not."

"Well, yeah," I admitted. "I do think it's a hoax, but it's still interesting."

We walked the grounds, checking out the bands and listening to the wide assortment of music genres. We grabbed corndogs and lemonade from a vender and listened to a band called Flash Nasty play their set. The band was good, the best we'd heard all day.

After Flash Nasty, we stopped by some other stages to hear other artists play anything from heavy metal to country and even saw some amazing pianists. There was also a karaoke stage set up, and when Lexie got up there and sang her heart out, the crowd went wild. Have I mentioned what an amazing singer she was? We were having a great time at the festival and by mid-afternoon, the park was packed with people out enjoying their Saturday.

I'm from Manhattan, so large crowds weren't new to me and never bothered me, but today, the crowd was making me a bit uneasy. I had the strangest feeling we were being watched, and I half expected a group of Harpies to come flying out of nowhere; no doubt they were out looking for us since we'd snuck away from camp.

We were making our way toward the museum, because Noah's curiosity was demanding he investigate the mystery surrounding the park's history, when we came upon one of the old radar stations. It was just a small brick building with a single steel door and an enormous radar dish mounted on the roof. Morgan walked over to the door to the building which was locked with multiple padlocks and deadbolts.

"I wonder what they got in there that needs to be locked up so tight," she said.

"It's probably empty," Lexie said. "I bet they just locked it up to keep nosy kids like you guys out."

"Perhaps I should unlock the door, so you can see what's inside," said a familiar voice from behind us. We turned to see Collin Barka standing there along with his associate Abigail Mason.

I was fairly stunned by their sudden appearance. "You," I gasped.

He grinned, "Hello, Chase. Didn't think I'd forgotten about you, did you?"

"I was hoping," I said. "How'd you know where to find us?"

"As I've said before, our intel is quite reliable and accurate."

"My cousin isn't with you?" Lexie asked, looking around for any sign of Finn.

"Finn's in hiding," Mason answered. "We know your uncle is looking for him, but he'll never find him. We'll make sure of that."

Lexie began to reach for her hairpin, which was actually her bow, when Barka pulled his pistol. "Don't move," he snapped, pointing the gun at her. He had a furious look on his face. No doubt he was pissed at Lexie for electrocuting him last summer.

"I'm not afraid of you," Lexie snarled, still going for her bow. "I've taken you down before, and I can do it again."

Barka adjusted his aim, now pointing the barrel of the pistol toward Morgan.

"Lexie," Noah pleaded. "Please, don't."

Lexie lowered her hand with the threat now on Morgan.

"Back away from the door," Barka ordered.

Having no choice, we did as he said. Mason pulled a key ring from her pocket and began unlocking the door while Barka held us at gunpoint.

"You got a key to a military compound?" Morgan gaped at Mason.

"In addition to intel, we also have extensive resources," she said as she opened the door. She pulled a flashlight from her tactical belt and shined it into the compound. The light revealed a dark stairwell leading underground.

"In," Barka waved us into the compound. Mason led the way, we followed, and Barka brought up the rear. We were led through another steel door and into a large room that looked strangely like the transporter room from an old episode of Star Trek.

"Where are we?" Noah asked.

Barka didn't answer Noah's question, but instead ordered us onto an elevated platform in the center of the dark room. Barka flipped a switch on a computer console that looked like it was left over from the 1980s, and the computer screen lit up.

"As you know," Barka began. "We've been trying to eradicate you troublesome demigods and uncooperative legacies for some time now, but it just hasn't been working out like we'd hoped."

"Outta your league?" Morgan taunted.

"Perhaps," Barka said without skipping a beat. "As much as you campers hate to admit it, the gods look out for you, which gives you an advantage over us, and in turn, we've had to adjust our strategy for destroying you."

"And just how do you plan to destroy us?" I asked.

"Easy," he grinned. "I'm simply going to let you destroy yourselves."

Barka pressed a button on the computer's keyboard, and a light began to glow from above the platform we were standing on. The four of us were bathed in a shimmering gold light, and Barka and Mason stood near the door watching. I tried to move, bolt from the platform, but it was like the light itself was molasses, and my movements were in slow motion. The light suddenly became white and blinding, then I blacked out.

I was the first to wake, and I had no idea how long I'd been out. I got my bearings and realized I was still on the platform where Barka and Mason had left us. The room was dark except for the faint light from the computer screen, and I could see that Barka and Mason were gone.

I woke Lexie, Noah, and Morgan, who were all very groggy, and it took them a while to get their wits about them. Whatever that bright light was, it sure did a number on our senses.

"What the hell happened?" Morgan asked as Noah helped her to her feet.

"I'm not sure," he answered. "But I think we just got whammied by the Rebellion."

"Let's get out of here, guys," Lexie said. "I feel like I'm going to black out again if I don't get some air."

Luckily we hadn't been locked in, and once outside, the fresh air did seem to clear my fuzzy head, but it didn't ease my mind a bit.

"Something's not right," I said as I looked at my surroundings. We were still at Camp Hero, but the park was empty. There were no people, no stages and bands; even the museum that should've been clearly visible from where I was standing was gone. It was beyond strange.

"Where'd everybody go?" Morgan asked, apparently making the same observation I had.

"My gods," Lexie gasped. "How long were we out? You don't think we were out for days, do you?"

"I don't know," I said. "But something's definitely off."

Noah shrugged, "I wonder if something or someone might be manipulating the Mist."

"Let me check," Lexie said.

"Check?" I asked. I didn't know she could do that.

She closed her eyes and waved a hand slowly and fluidly in front of her. When she opened her eyes, she said, "I sense no disturbance."

I cocked an eyebrow at her. "What was that, Obi-Wan?"

Morgan hooked a thumb toward Lexie. "The Force is strong with this one."

"Can you teach me to do that?" I asked Lexie.

She shook her head, "Nope."

"Why not?"

"Because you can't do it. You have to be a demigod to do tricks with the Mist."

I opened my mouth, then closed it. I sometimes forgot that I wasn't actually a demigod. I was around so many of them, that I kind of felt like one of them.

"Come on, guys," Noah said. "Let's get out of here before something else happens."

We walked to the parking lot where I left my Jeep, and it was empty. Completely empty. "Where's my Jeep?" I asked no one in particular.

Morgan laughed, "They stole your Jeep, CJ."

"My mom is going to_ kill_ me."

"What now?" Noah asked.

"Looks like we're hitchhiking," Lexie said, and we took off walking down the highway that led back to the beach house, which was ten miles away.

A nice man in an old two-tone Chevy pick-up gave us a ride in the bed of the truck and dropped us off about half a mile from my parent's beach house. We walked the rest of the way, but as we got closer, I got more and more confused. Nothing looked the same.

"Are we in the right place?" Lexie asked. "Nothing looks familiar to me."

"Me either," I said. "But this is the right road."

We walked a little farther, and when the beach house should've been in view, all we saw was an old, run-down shack that looked like it was about to fall apart.

"We're lost," Morgan sounded exasperated.

"No, we're not lost," I said. "But something's definitely not right. Lexie are you sure there's nothing going on with the Mist?"

She checked again. "It feels normal. There are no ripples or anything."

"It's got to be something. I mean, look-the whole landscape has changed."

"You think this has something to do with what Barka did to us back at the park?" Noah asked.

I shrugged, "Maybe."

"Let's go back to camp. We should tell Chiron about all this," Lexie suggested.

"How are we gonna get back to camp?" Morgan asked. "We ain't got a car, and I ain't walkin' half-way across Long Island."

"Well, Morgan," I said. "It looks like it's your lucky day."

"How so?" she asked.

"Let's go find you a car to steal."

Her eyes glittered, and she pumped her fist. "_Yes_."

**AN: These first few chapters have been short-shorter than I prefer, but chapters are about to get a lot longer. -dmac**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Sorry about the slow update. This chapter gave me hell, and I still don't like it much. Also, RL has been getting in the way of my writing. Updates will likely continue to be slow for a while, because school will be starting soon. And to the anon reviewer, 7852, who thinks the time travel machine is corny, Google the Montauk Project. -dmac**

4. Blast from the Past

Some legacies have powers, and some don't. Unlike her two younger brothers, Morgan wasn't blessed with any godly powers from her grandparents, but that doesn't mean she didn't inherit their tendencies or personality. She was so much like a child of Hermes that one might not realize she was only a grandchild of Hermes, one with no godly powers whatsoever. Her skills when it came to thievery were learned, not natural.

Morgan was hunched beneath the steering wheel of an old Buick, attempting to hotwire the car we were going to _borrow_, and it was taking her forever. I was afraid we were going to get caught and arrested for grand theft auto.

"What's taking so long?" I complained.

"If you hadn't picked a car that was made back in the stone-age, then maybe I'd have a better idea of how to hotwire it. This car is so old, it's guesswork." A pair of wires in her hand sparked. "_Son of a bitch_," she swore and shook the hand that got shocked.

"Sorry. I couldn't find a newer car. I guess everyone around here drives old clunkers."

Finally, after about ten minutes of shocking herself and cursing General Motors, she got the old Buick sedan's engine running. Morgan wiggled up into the driver's seat and adjusted it for her short legs.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked her.

"What does it look like I'm doin'? I'm drivin'."

I shook my head, "Oh, no, you're not."

"Oh, yes, I am. I got the car runnin', so I'm drivin'. Either get your ass in or walk."

I gritted my teeth. I swear, sometimes–most of the time–that girl made me want to scream. But instead of screaming, I plopped down into the backseat with Noah. He was biting his lip, trying not to laugh, I could tell.

The ride back to camp was quiet. We couldn't even listen to the radio, because Morgan had fried it when she was attempting to find the right wires that would start the car. I stared out the window as we headed back to camp, and I became convinced that there must've been some sort of disturbance in the Mist. Things just weren't right. The landscape was similar, the road hadn't changed, but there were things I saw along the way that were off. Things that were supposed to be along the road: signs, gas stations, rest stops–they were gone or in some cases, there were ones I'd never seen before; it was like they'd just come up out of the ground since yesterday.

Noah nudged me. "I've been thinking," he said. "About the Montauk Project."

"What about it?" I asked.

"What if it wasn't a hoax? What if the government really did do top-secret experiments? What if some of them worked?"

I shrugged, "So, what if it wasn't a hoax? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Nothing," he said. "Just curious about it, I guess."

I grinned, "That curiosity of yours is going to get you into trouble one of these days."

"It has before, and it will again," he laughed. "Fatal flaws, you know?"

Every hero has a fatal flaw. Mine was compassion, Lexie's was fearlessness, but I didn't know Noah's was curiosity until that moment.

I just shrugged, "We've all got one."

"I don't," Morgan said, apparently eves dropping on our conversation. "I'm perfect."

I had to choke back a laugh, but Noah just smiled. It was a goofy grin, and it was so obvious he was agreeing with her statement without actually saying it. Oh, gods, did he have it bad for that girl.

When we pulled down the old farm road that led to camp, I suddenly got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. My gut was telling me not to go to camp, and I couldn't figure out why. I couldn't figure out what the hell was going on.

When Morgan parked the car at the bottom of the hill, we all climbed out and began approaching Thalia's pine. I noticed the Fleece's guardian, Morgan's giant Python, Maximus, begin to move around as we got closer, and it made me stop cold in my tracks, along with everyone else. The reptile underneath the tree wasn't Max. Lexie gasped and gripped my arm as an enormous copper-colored dragon emerged from under the tree, spreading his wings, whipping his tail, and roaring into the air. It was Peleus.

But Peleus was dead; he was killed by the Rebellion last summer. So, how was he here now? Did he reform already?

Lexie released my arm and took a step toward the dragon she loved and missed so much. Peleus whipped his head around at her movement and breathed fire into the air. I grabbed Lexie and pulled her back. Peleus wasn't the same. It was like he didn't know us, and he treated us like a threat.

"Stay back, guys," I said.

Lexie was shaking. "How is he here? And what's wrong with him?" she asked, clearly upset. I'd be upset too if my pet suddenly rose from the dead then acted like he might kill me.

"I don't think he recognizes us."

Lexie took a slow step toward the irritated dragon. "Peleus," she said in that soft comforting voice she used to speak to him in. "Peleus, it's me. It's Lexie."

The dragon thrust his head forward and sniffed the air, taking in our scent. His head quirked to the side, and confusion was plastered on his face. I thought for a second that maybe he'd finally recognized us, but that wasn't the case. He threw his head back up, roared into the air, then whipped back toward us, breathing fire in our direction.

"Lookout!" I yelled, and we all dove for cover.

"That dragon has lost his damn mind!" Morgan gasped.

Noah was helping Morgan to her feet, and I was dragging Lexie along. "Let's get out of here before he lights us on fire!" I yelled.

We ran down the hill back to the car while Peleus roared and screeched behind us. We piled into the car, I started the engine, and peeled away from Half-Blood Hill, leaving dust in our wake. When we got back out onto the highway, I turned and headed for Manhattan. I didn't know where else to go, so I headed home.

Morgan leaned forward from the backseat and said, "Will someone please explain what just happened on that hill?"

"I was wondering the same thing," Lexie said. "And where are we going, CJ?"

"Home. Maybe my parents can help us figure out what's happening."

"I think I know what's going on," Noah said.

I looked over my shoulder at him in the backseat. "What?"

"Stop at this gas station up here." He pointed up the road.

I pulled into the station and asked, "What's this all about, Noah?"

"Wait here," he said as he opened the car door. He stepped out and walked into the store. After a minute, he walked out with a newspaper in his hand. He climbed back into the car and handed me the paper. "That's what's going on. I had a feeling…"

"What am I looking for, Noah?" I asked as I glanced over the front page of the local newspaper.

"Look at the date," he said, so I did.

"That's impossible," I whispered when I read the date.

Lexie looked over at the paper and blinked. "That's a quarter-century ago. That date has to be a typo."

"It's not a typo," Noah said. "And it's not impossible. Think about it. If those government experiments on time travel at Camp Hero really did work, and the Rebellion knew about it, Barka could've used it against us. If he was able to send us back in time using the Montauk Project, knowing we'd likely create a temporal paradox that could change the entire timeline, especially sending us back to this date, he might've been right about us destroying ourselves."

"What's so special about the date?" Morgan asked.

"The Titan War," I remembered and threw the car in drive, peeling out of the gas station. "The battle in Manhattan began on this day."

"So, you're saying Barka and Mason transported us back in time at Montauk," Morgan said. "And that's why everything's been so screwed up?"

Noah nodded, "That's exactly what I'm saying."

"Neat." Of course Morgan would think it was _neat_.

I was now speeding toward Manhattan. My parents were there, about to go into one of the fiercest battles they'd ever faced. My mom almost died in that battle. I was going to help if I could.

"CJ." Lexie gripped my forearm. "CJ, slow down. Think about this for a second. If we go to Manhattan…think about what might happen."

"You think we'll screw up the timeline, destroy everything."

"We're not supposed to be there, CJ," she said. "They'll win the war without us. We shouldn't interfere."

I knew she was probably right, but there was no way I was going to stand back and do nothing.

"My parents are there, your parents are there, Morgan's parents are there. They're all there fighting and their lives are in danger. What if this was supposed to happen? What if we were there the first time? What if the Fates made sure we got sent back?" I was on the edge of panic and grasping at straws, trying to come up with an excuse to get in on the battle at Manhattan.

"I'm with CJ on this one," Morgan said. "If I can help my parents, I wanna do it."

"This is a bad idea." Lexie shook her head. "But you might be right, CJ. Things do happen for a reason…most of the time."

"What do you think, Noah?" I asked.

"My father will be there…" he paused and took a breath. "Hell yes, I'm going."

The sun was beginning to set as we very slowly neared Manhattan. Kronos was slowing time, hindering a quick approach. We should've reached the Brooklyn Bridge hours ago, but we were still creeping along the expressway. Lexie kept having to jerk the steering wheel to keep me from taking an exit that led away from the city. Something in my head kept telling me to turn back. Lexie said it was a manipulation to keep mortals from entering Manhattan, and because I was more mortal than not, it was affecting me to some degree. We just had to hope the sleep spell Morpheus cast over the city wouldn't affect me and Morgan.

I sort of remembered my parents mentioning those little details in their stories about the war. Lexie and Morgan both recalled details I'd forgotten or never heard from the stories their own parents had told them about their experiences in the war. It was strange to think we were going to see those stories play out in the flesh and to think about seeing our parents when they were our age. As a matter of fact, in this timeline, my dad would be a few months younger than me. Weird.

We saw the enemy long before I'd hoped. I was hoping we could get into Manhattan before the monster armies began to make their push into the city, but we weren't that lucky.

"What now?" Noah asked when he saw that our entrance to the island was blocked by an army.

"Um…" I had to think for a second. "So, all access points are blocked by the invasion. Am I remembering that right?"

Lexie nodded, "Yeah."

"So, our best chance is to sneak in," I said. "Taking a boat across the river is probably our best bet then."

"I agree," Lexie said. "That's likely the only way."

I took an exit off the expressway that led toward the riverbank. "Alright. Let's do it."

I pulled up at the docks and parked the car. I noticed people all around just sleeping where they fell. I guess the spell went a little beyond Manhattan itself, and because Morgan and I were still awake, it was looking like we had just enough godly blood in our veins to beat Morpheus's trick. The question now was: did we make it in time to beat Dad's trick? I remember him telling me he cut a deal with the Hudson and East Rivers to keep boats from crossing into Manhattan. If we were too late, our boat would be sunk by East.

At the dock, I found us a small cruising powerboat with the key in the ignition. We loaded into the cruiser, and I made everyone put on a life vest, just in case. I started up the boat and began the nervous voyage across the East River.

We were about halfway across the river when a ball of Greek fire exploded above us turning the evening sky green. We were being fired upon.

"Faster, CJ!" Morgan yelled.

I pushed the throttle all the way down, speeding through the waters of the East River near where it and the Hudson came together and emptied into the bay. It was getting so dark that it was hard to see anything but the lights along FDR Drive on the Manhattan bank. I had to hope there were no telkhines–sea demons–in our path.

Fortunately, we made it across before we took a Greek fire bomb to the hull and before the East River had received orders from Dad to keep anything and everything out of the city, which told me that the demigods hadn't yet engaged in battle with the enemy.

I landed the boat at the east end of Battery Park, and we all disembarked.

"Well, we made it," Lexie said. "What now?"

"We scout, find out where we're needed most, then we fight," I said as I started to walk into Battery Park. "Let's go."


	5. Chapter 5

5. Cause and Effect

I led the way as we walked through Battery Park toward the city, and Lexie, Noah, and Morgan were chatting as they followed. I'm not sure if they were talking to each other or talking to themselves. It sounded like random nervous chatter to me, so I just kept my mouth shut.

"I can't believe this is really happenin'," Morgan was saying. "That we're really in the past."

"No wonder Peleus was so freaked out," Lexie said. "He didn't know us. We probably smelled like a weird mix of our parents…which is kinda gross to think about."

"My mom and dad and Uncle Conner are all here," Morgan went on. "This is gonna be so crazy."

"I sure hope that time travel device at Montauk works both ways, so we can get back to our own timeline," Noah said.

"It'll be just like that movie," Morgan said, excitedly.

"What movie?" Lexie asked.

"Oh, you know the one where they go to the past then back to the future?"

"_Back to the Future?_" Noah guessed.

"Yeah, yeah, that one."

"How are we going to do this, CJ?" Noah asked me. "I mean it's not like we can just stroll up to your teenage parents and introduce ourselves."

"That'd be awkward," Morgan muttered.

Not only would it be awkward, it would create a temporal paradox that could potentially erase my existence. No, thank you. I happened to like my existence. "We'll have to stay out of sight," I said. "We'll fight where we can without being seen."

"That's not a problem for me," Lexie said. "I can shoot arrows from a hide, but what about you guys?"

"I'll be able to stay hidden, too," Noah said. "I can manipulate any fires that are around the battles from a distance."

"Yeah, that sounds badass." Morgan hooked a thumb toward Noah. "I'm stickin' with him."

"Fine," I said. "Keep an eye out for weapons, Morgan. You might find some javelins or spears you could use." She was actually pretty good with a javelin.

She nodded, "Gotcha."

"Lexie, you and I can–" I paused at the sound of a motor buzzing, and the sound was getting closer. "Someone's coming. We've gotta hide."

We ducked behind a cluster of trees and shrubbery and watched as a scooter approached. It stopped only twenty feet away from where we were hiding. A guy and girl hopped off the little Vespa, and when I got a good look at them, my jaw dropped.

"Isn't that your parents?" Lexie whispered to me.

It was my parents, no doubt about it. The guy looked almost identical to me, so I knew it was Dad, and the girl's curly blond hair was unmistakably Mom's. But damn, it was so weird to look at those kids who were my age and know they would eventually become my parents.

"Wait here," I heard my dad say to my mom.

"Percy, you shouldn't go alone," she said.

"Well, unless you can breathe underwater…"

She sighed. "You are _so_ annoying sometimes."

"Like when I'm right?"

My gods, they hadn't changed a bit. Their banter here when they were kids was the same as it was back in the future when they were forty.

Morgan snickered, "They're so cute together."

Dad left Mom alone while he went into the river, and her phone began ringing immediately.

"Come on, guys," I whispered. "Let's get out of here while she's distracted."

Seeing my parents like that put the whole situation in perspective. This was the real deal, and if we screwed up this war, the future we lived in may not exist as we knew it anymore.

"Let's split up," I said. "We'll go where we're needed most. Noah, you and Morgan stick together and take the west side. See if they need help holding the Holland Tunnel and the Lincoln Tunnel, but try to stay out of sight, too. Lexie and I will take the east side. We'll rendezvous at the southeast end of Central Park. There's a hotel, the Sherry-Netherland, near the Plaza Hotel. We'll make that our home-base. Meet there at sunrise."

"Got it," Noah nodded. "Be careful guys."

"You, too."

He and Morgan took off into the night, and Lexie and I headed for the Williamsburg Bridge. When we arrived, the Apollo cabin that was defending the bridge desperately needed help. They were already outnumbered and being pushed back by the monster army. Cars burned and flaming arrows sailed through the air. The children of Apollo were building barriers and fiery blockades to delay the monster's advance, but it barely slowed the invasion.

Lexie grabbed a bow and quiver full of arrows that had belonged to a fallen Apollo camper. "Here," she said handing them to me.

I raised my eyebrows. "You're not serious?"

She shoved the bow and quiver into my hands. "You wanted to know when you were ever going to use a bow in battle. Well, that's now."

Lexie and I set up at a construction site where a crew had been doing a little work where the bridge met the island. The site had plenty of cover: piles of dirt, large cement mixers, a crane, and other equipment. It was elevated and offset to the right of the bridge, which was a perfect angle looking down over the bridge and river. Our position was easily in range to fire arrows down on the enemy and still be out of sight of the demigods.

I knelt down beside a cement mixer, and Lexie knelt on the other side. She already had her bow drawn and was raining arrows down as fast as she could draw back the string. Her bow was a gift from her father. It was enchanted so that she never had to carry arrows; one would magically appear every time the string was drawn. She was picking off a phalanx of dracaenae one by one, and I aimed for the hellhounds–big targets that I was more likely to hit. I wasn't terrible with a bow, but I was by no means good with one. I could hit the stationary targets at camp, but this was different. Only about one in three of the arrows I let fly hit their mark.

I saw two objects swooping overhead, and I almost fired on them before I realized it was two pegasi. On their backs were my parents. Suddenly, the white pegasus banked left, and the black pegasus, no doubt Blackjack, tucked his wings and dove to miss a flying limo, which had been chucked by none other than the Minotaur.

When my parents were finally safely on the ground and hunkered behind a school bus, I began firing arrows like mad to cover them as they assessed the situation. A moment later, my dad stepped out into the battle and right up to the Minotaur.

"Come on, Dad," I said to myself. "Kick his ugly ass."

And he did.

Dad sliced ole Beefhead's axe in half, kicked him in the snout, and when the monster charged, Dad braced the axe against the railing, and the Minotaur slammed into it with a crunch. After he handled the Minotaur, he took on the rest of the army, slicing and dicing and stabbing his way through a horde of monsters; it was a beautiful thing. Soon my mom was at his side, fighting with her knife and shield.

As I watched my parents stand shoulder to shoulder, fighting for and protecting one another, I couldn't help but look over at Lexie. She was kneeling just a few feet to my right, still firing one arrow after the other at the enemy. She caught me staring at her out of the corner of her eye, and she shot me a wink and a grin.

She was having a blast. She may have been apprehensive about coming to Manhattan at first. That dream she had probably had something to do with it, but now that she was here, she was in the zone. No telling how many monsters she'd taken down, maybe a hundred. She lived for the fight, and she was definitely putting on a show. She was proud to be here fighting with the Apollo cabin–her brothers and sisters. And I was proud to be right there beside her.

I looked back out toward the battle in time to see my mom collapse to the ground, and suddenly I felt like someone had punched me in the gut. My Achilles spot ached with a dull throbbing sensation, and my head began to swim in reaction to the pain.

"Mom!" I heard myself cry out in panic.

I tried to stand and run to her, but I fell back to my knees, clutching my aching stomach. What was happening to me? I hadn't taken a hit to my Achilles spot, so why was I hurting like this?

I felt Lexie shaking my shoulders as she knelt in front of me. Her voice sounded far away as she repeated my name. "CJ! CJ, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

I shook my head. "No. I don't know what's happening. I'm in pain, Lexie," I winced. "Ah, it hurts." I probably sounded like a big baby, but pain always caught me off guard. I wasn't used to it, and I didn't know how to deal with it and push past it like everyone else did.

She moved my hands that were still clutching my stomach. She lifted my shirt and saw that I hadn't taken a hit to my navel. "But how? I mean the curse–" she paused, looking back out toward the fight. "Oh, gods," she gasped. "Your mom. She was stabbed by a poison knife. Remember, she almost died? If her life is draining now, then–"

It all clicked. "Then my life is draining, too, because if she dies here, I won't exist in the future."

"But you'll be okay; she'll be okay, right? I mean she recovered. You'll be okay when her wound gets treated," Lexie's voice was shaky with uncertainty.

I heard flapping over our heads and looked up to see Blackjack fly by, and clutched in his teeth was Mom.

"Go to her, Lexie," I said.

"What?"

"Go help my mom. You're a healer. Leave me here and help her, please."

"I can't leave you here like this."

"Lexie, please," I begged. "It's my mom. Go to the Plaza Hotel. That's where she'll be. Please, help her. Save her, Lexie. Save me."

"Campers will be there, CJ. What if I get caught helping her?"

"Just pretend you're a Hunter. You can pull that off."

She nodded, "A Hunter of Artemis…yeah, yeah, that could work." She gripped my hand tightly. "Stay here and stay low," she said, then leaned in and kissed my cheek. "I'll be back for you at sunrise."

I mumbled something that sounded like, "Hmmuhuhumky." I'd like to blame my way with words on the pain, but that little peck on the cheek was what made my lips malfunction and caused my blood to heat to the point that I felt like I might melt into a puddle of goo. A year ago, I don't think I would've had that type of reaction to Lexie simply kissing me on the cheek, but a lot can change in a year. My feelings toward Lexie certainly had.

She took off running into the city. I grabbed my bow and quiver and slowly moved to a spot where I'd be more hidden. I could still see the battle, and I had enough clearance where I could still fire arrows at the invasion. The pain coursing through my body wasn't as intense anymore, but fatigue was beginning to set in. I was so weak that I could barely knock an arrow on my bowstring, so I didn't even bother trying to shoot; I wouldn't have been able to hit anything, anyway. I set the bow to the side and pulled my pen from my pocket. I felt helpless just sitting there, but having my sword in my hand made me more comfortable. At least I might be able to defend myself if I got ambushed by a monster.

I sat in my little hide, looking out at the Williamsburg Bridge. My eyes were heavy and lethargy was pulling me toward sleep, but I made myself stay awake so I could watch Dad in action. He didn't disappoint.

He was now fighting Kronos himself and was holding his own until the titan blasted him halfway across the bridge. Dad got back to his feet, twirled his sword in his hand, then slammed it into the asphalt. A crack formed in the bridge, and water shot out of it like a geyser. The bridge began to crumble leaving both armies no choice but retreat. As Kronos and his army began to fall back, I began to fall asleep.

Have you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall and eves drop on a conversation? Well, my dream was just that. Lexie, now dressed in a white tee shirt and silvery camo pants, was rushing up a flight of stairs, then burst out onto a terrace where a pale and shivering girl lay on a lounge chair. It was my mom.

"Oh, thank the gods!" a pretty brunette that was kneeling beside Mom gasped when she saw Lexie. "A Hunter. Are you a healer, too? She needs a healer. I don't know what I'm doing."

Lexie took one look at Mom then turned to the other girl who I remembered to be Silena something-or-other, an Aphrodite kid…and a traitor. "Get blankets, water, cloths, and bandages," Lexie ordered. If I didn't know any better, I'd think she _was_ a Hunter. She had that commanding presence her mother had. I'd always had this little fear in the back of my mind that Lexie might someday follow in her mother's footsteps and join the Hunt, and seeing her like this made that fear swell.

Lexie knelt beside Mom who was unconscious and examined her wound. It was a deep cut, and it was still bleeding pretty badly. "Okay, Annabeth," Lexie whispered. "Let's get you fixed up."

Lexie put her hand on Mom's shoulder, closed her eyes, and began mumbling in ancient Greek. I knew Lexie wasn't the greatest healer, but maybe she could buy Mom enough time until more help arrived. When Lexie finished her incantation, she looked exhausted. "That should keep the poison from spreading too far," she said to herself.

A moment later, Silena came back out onto the terrace with her arms full of supplies. "What can I do now?" she asked.

"Cover her with those blankets. We don't want her going into shock."

Silena did as she was told while Lexie emptied a bottle of water onto a couple of hotel washcloths. She gave a cloth to the daughter of Aphrodite. "Put this on her forehead," Lexie said. "It'll help with the fever."

Lexie then took another bottle of water and poured it onto the wound on Mom's arm that was beginning to turn green. She cleaned the wound with the water and cloth then wrapped it tightly with a bandage. "That should stop the bleeding."

"Thank you so much," Silena said. "If you hadn't shown up, I don't know what I would've done. I'm not cut out for this."

"Maybe not," Lexie sounded exasperated, and the look on her face was her I'd-like-to-knock-you-out-bitch look. She knew as well as I did that Silena was a spy for Kronos. "But that doesn't mean you're useless…or that you can't do the right thing in the end."

Silena took in a sharp breath, but didn't say anything.

I could hear approaching voices, and Lexie looked out over the terrace to see the sun beginning to peek out over the horizon and a horde of demigods and Hunters of Artemis converging on the hotel. It was time for her to get out of there.

"I have to go now," Lexie said to Silena. "Percy should be here soon."

Lexie rushed off the terrace, back down the stairs, and then she was suddenly right in front of me.

"CJ," she said as she shook my shoulder. "CJ, wake up."

My eyes fluttered open to see the rising sun and a Hunter of Artemis knelt beside me. Except it wasn't a Hunter, it was Lexie.

"Nice outfit," I mumbled.

She shrugged, "Hey, it worked. I fooled 'em."

"Mom?" I asked as I sat up.

"You're still here, so she's still here."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"How about you? How are you feeling?"

I got to my feet and stretched my arms. I felt back to normal. "I feel fine, now," I said.

"Good, because we need to get moving. Come on."


	6. Chapter 6

6. We Rest…Kinda

Lexie and I arrived at our rendezvous point, the Sherry-Netherland Hotel, and found a note taped to the lobby door. It read: _19th floor suite 2B_ and was signed _Y__our Favorite Oracle._

I grabbed the note and crumpled it. "Cute."

Lexie laughed, "You really don't like Morgan much, do you?"

I shrugged, "She just annoys me sometimes."

We took the elevator to the 19th floor and found the luxury suite we'd been directed to. I knocked on the door, and Morgan quickly opened it. She looked beat. Her curly mess of hair was wrapped in a towel on her head like she'd just gotten out of the shower, and she was wearing a pair of cotton shorts and a tank top. Her arms and legs were covered in scrapes and bruises.

"Shh," she whispered. "Noah's sleepin'."

"Are you okay?" Lexie asked quietly as we walked into the suite, which was huge. It had a large furnished living area, a kitchenette, and two bedrooms. It was very modern and luxurious. "You look like you went through a meat grinder."

Morgan rolled her eyes. "Why thank you, Lexie."

"Sorry. I just mean you're pretty beat up."

"I can't drink nectar, remember?" Being a mortal legacy, Morgan couldn't drink nectar or eat ambrosia to heal her battle wounds. Most legacies have adverse reactions to it—like spontaneous combustion.

"Is there anything I can do?" Lexie asked.

"Nah. The cuts ain't bad, they just need some air."

"Are you sure?"

Morgan nodded, "I'm fine—we're fine, just exhausted. I made Noah lay down before he fell down."

"How'd it go?" I asked.

"It was wild," she said. I think she would've been excited if she hadn't been so tired. "We hit the Holland Tunnel first to help out the Hephaestus kids. Noah got his flame on, and it was like the lightshow from hell. Then we went to see if the Hunters needed a hand. We ran into your mom, Lexie. She's kinda bossy."

"You talked to my mom?" Lexie gaped.

"Yep," Morgan nodded. "We told her we were from cabin eleven, and we were makin' rounds to see who needed help the most. After we helped 'em blow up a tank, she gave me her card. I think she was wantin' me to join the Hunt." Morgan rolled her eyes. "Like that'll ever happen."

"Sounds like you two had a busy night," I said. "You should get some rest, Morgan."

"I been meanin' to, but I was waitin' up for y'all. I was startin' to get worried."

Lexie shrugged, "We would've been here sooner, but CJ needed a nap."

"I was dying, and you're making fun of me," I pouted.

Morgan yawned. "Well, you both look fine to me, so I'm gonna crash now and leave y'all to your flirtin'." I felt my face get red-hot. "Good night or mornin' or whatever," she said as walked into a bedroom and closed the door behind her.

I plopped down in a recliner, and Lexie hit the sofa. I noticed the coffee table and surrounding floor were piled high with cell phones, binoculars, flashlights, first aid kits, changes of clothes, backpacks, food and drinks, and any other necessity you could think of.

"Looks like Morgan went shopping," I said to Lexie, but she didn't answer. She was already out like a light.

I grabbed a blanket that was sitting on the end table and draped it over her. She was sleeping like a rock. She looked so peaceful when she slept; it was like all her intensity melted away. It reminded me of the times she would fall asleep while watching cartoons when we were eight.

I picked up a pair of binoculars off the coffee table and walked over to the large picture window that looked out over Grand Army Plaza and had a clear view of the Plaza Hotel just across the way. As I glassed the Plaza, I could see a few demigods and Hunters coming and going, but not many. Most were probably resting from the battle or having their wounds treated. I noticed a pack of timber wolves methodically circling the Plaza and a couple of pegasi drinking from an ornamental fountain. I scanned the terraces, looking for my mom, but I never found her. She'd likely been taken to a room where she could rest comfortably. Dad was nowhere to be seen either. After what he did to the Williamsburg Bridge, I bet he needed a nap, too.

Sleep certainly wasn't a bad idea. We'd all need our rest if we were going into battle again tonight. I closed the curtains to dim the suite, then curled up into the recliner. I was asleep before I knew it.

My dream started with fire…a lot of fire. Noah and Morgan were hunkered behind a car inside the Holland Tunnel, and both had sweat pouring off them. It was hot; I could feel the intense heat even in my dream. It didn't seem to bother the Hephaestus kids that were engaged in battle with a horde of monsters. Cars were burning with red and green fire to barricade the tunnel, but some monsters were able to get past the blockades. That's when Noah went to work. He'd thrust his hands to the left and right while concentrating on the blazes. Greek fire and regular fire obeyed his commands, leaping from their source and engulfing charging monsters. Piles of ash littered the tunnel. Noah must've taken out at least fifty monsters on his own.

Noah and Morgan followed the advancing Hephaestus kids as they pushed back the enemy, but were careful to stay hidden behind cars and other debris. Occasionally, Morgan would find a discarded spear and use it. She took out a Cyclopes by drilling it in the eye and nailed a hellhound in mid air as it was leaping for a Hephaestus camper.

"Noah," Morgan said. "I think they've got things under control here. We should probably fall back before we're seen."

He nodded, "You're right. We should get to the Lincoln Tunnel."

Noah and Morgan retreated from the Holland Tunnel and made their way toward the Lincoln Tunnel where the Hunters of Artemis, led by none other than Lexie's mom, were engaged in a heated battle with the enemy.

Thalia was standing on the hood of a car, firing arrows at the enemy. Her stance and form reminded me so much of Lexie. If Lexie's hair was short and black instead of long and brown, she'd look just like her mom did when she was a kid.

Thalia did a back-flip off the car to miss a dive-bombing dragon. She quickly turned on her heel and fired arrows at the dragon as it flew past. She nailed it. The black, fire-breathing dragon shrieked then crash-landed at Morgan's and Noah's feet as it turned to ash. They coughed and fanned the dust and smoke away from their faces. When the dust cleared, Thalia was standing right in front of them with her hands on her hips. Her skin had a light glow—the blessing of Artemis—and her eyes sparked with electric energy. And with her skull earrings and black leather jacket, she looked like an intimidating force to be reckoned with.

"Who are you?" Thalia ordered of Noah and Morgan.

"Uh," Noah muttered.

Morgan cut in, "We're from cabin eleven. Travis sent us out to see if any of the other cabins needed help."

Thalia looked skeptical. "I don't recognize you."

"We're new. Just came to camp this summer."

"I see," Thalia nodded. "We could use some help on the left flank."

There was a loud explosion, and everyone hit the ground. They looked down the tunnel to see a Sherman tank bearing down on them.

"Dammit!" Thalia yelled. "We've gotta take out that tank!"

Morgan got to her feet and turned to Thalia. "I'll handle the tank."

Thalia raised her eyebrows and looked the lithe Oracle up and down. "You?"

"You?" Noah repeated.

Morgan looked offended. "Yes, me. But I'll need y'all to cover me."

Noah drew his katana. "You got it."

Thalia tapped her bracelet, and it transformed into the most hideous and frightening shield I'd ever seen. It made Noah and Morgan take a step back.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Hermes kid," Thalia said to Morgan.

"Me, too," Morgan said, then took off running toward the tank, picking a javelin up off the ground as she went.

Noah, Thalia, and a few other Hunters covered Morgan's approach. When she reached the tank, she ran around behind it and began climbing onto the giant metal beast like a spider monkey. Her small frame made her nimble and agile, but her short arms and legs made it more difficult to climb. She'd almost made it to the top when a dracanae demon appeared above her. The demons snake-legs made me shiver even in my dream.

The demon stared down at Morgan who was barely hanging onto the rumbling tank. "Ssstupid demigod," the demon hissed.

Morgan held onto the tank with one hand and flung her javelin at the dracanae with the other hand, impaling the demon. "I'm not a demigod, ssstupid demon," Morgan retorted as the dracanae turned to dust.

When Morgan finally made it on top of the tank, she went straight for an access panel that read: high voltage. She opened the panel to find a wad cables and wires. She pulled a dagger from its sheath at the small of her back and began operating on the tank's wire guts. It wasn't exactly surgical precision when Morgan was elbow deep in wires and shocking the crap out of herself, but she seemed to know what she was doing—even if it wasn't pretty as she did it.

She finally found the wires she was looking for and began tapping the exposed ends together. The big gun on top of the tank began to spin, and soon it was aimed at the monster army, not the Hunters.

"Fire in the hole!" Morgan yelled. She cut a wire, and the big gun fired into the enemy wiping out nearly a hundred monsters and blowing out a pretty big chunk of the tunnel wall.

"Bwahahaha!" she cackled like a mad scientist, then went back to work on the wires. She tied two wires together, closed the panel, then leaped off the tank. She tucked and rolled when she hit the ground, and Noah was quickly at her side, helping her get to her feet. "Run!" she yelled. "She's gonna blow!"

They took off toward the tunnel entrance, and just when everyone was out of range, the tank exploded. The blast knocked everyone off their feet and sent debris flying through the tunnel. When the dust finally cleared, I saw Hunters getting to their feet to take out the monsters that hadn't been destroyed by the blast, and I saw Noah and Morgan on the ground. Noah had his arms covering Morgan's head; he'd protected her from the blast.

"Are you okay," he asked as he helped her sit up.

"I'm fine, but you're bleedin'."

She wiped the blood off a cut on his forehead to see how deep it was. "Ouch," he winced.

She rolled her eyes. "Big baby."

"Is it bad?" he asked.

Morgan looked closely at the cut. Her face was so close to his, and I swear I could see his breathing pick up and hear his heart pounding. "It's pretty deep," she said. "You need some nectar."

"Here," said a voice above them. Thalia was standing over them holding a canteen. "Here's some nectar."

Morgan made Noah drink a few sips then cleaned the wound with it. It began to close up immediately. Morgan helped Noah to his feet then handed the canteen back to Thalia. "Thanks," Morgan said.

Thalia traded a business card for the canteen. Morgan looked over the card Thalia had given her. "What's this?" she asked.

"You've got skills…and spunk. You'd make a good Hunter of Artemis. If you're ever interested, give me a call."

When I woke up, I heard hushed voices. I blinked the sleep from my eyes and scanned the room. Lexie and Morgan were sitting on the floor, loading backpacks with supplies and talking quietly.

"What time is it?" I yawned.

"Mid-afternoon," Lexie said. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Eh, alright I guess. Dreams, you know?"

She nodded, "Believe me, I know." It didn't surprise me that Lexie was having dreams, too. I'm sure Morgan and Noah were as well. It's a hero thing.

I climbed out of the recliner and grabbed a can of Dr. Pepper out of the mini-fridge.

"Did you steal all that stuff, Morgan?" I asked about the items she and Lexie were stuffing into packs.

"Not _all_ of it. Noah stole some, too. And I gotcha somethin'." She tossed me a pair of jeans and a tee shirt. "Thought you might wanna change."

Bless her thieving heart. I did need a change of clothes. I was still wearing the shorts and tank I had on at Montauk yesterday. I also needed a hot shower. I was filthy and beginning to smell.

"Thanks," I said, then headed to the shower.

After I washed all the grime off myself, I put on the clothes Morgan gave me—and they fit. I expected Noah to be awake by the time I finished cleaning up, but he still hadn't come out of his room.

"Noah's still not up?" I asked as I grabbed a bag of potato chips off the coffee table and hit the sofa.

Lexie and Morgan both shook their heads.

"Morgan, which room is he in?" I asked, and she pointed toward a door to the left. "I'll go check on him."

I eased the door open, expecting to see Noah snoring in his bed, but the bed was empty. "Noah?" No answer. I checked the adjoining bathroom; it was empty, too.

"Guys," I said as I walked back into the living area. "Noah's not here."

Morgan turned to me. "Huh?"

"He's not in his room," I said.

"He was at noon. I checked on him."

"Well, he's not now. Neither of you have seen him since noon?" I asked.

"I only saw him when I looked in on him," Morgan said. "I went right back to sleep after that."

Lexie shrugged, "I haven't seen him at all. I only woke up an hour before you did, CJ."

"Maybe he went for a walk. He might've needed some air," Morgan suggested.

Maybe so, but something didn't feel right. I felt like something bad was about to happen.

"Lexie, what time did you say it was?" I asked.

She glanced at her watch. "Ten after four."

I racked my brain. What happened on this afternoon? I knew something did, but what?

"Didn't Noah's dad show up today?" Morgan said like she was reading my thoughts.

I ran to the window, and I could see it from a half a mile away—a white flag as big as a football field. Prometheus was here.

"You don't think…" Lexie started.

"Noah would confront his father, creating a paradox that would alter the timeline and possibly erase, not only himself, but all of us from existence?"

"Oh, shit," Morgan deadpanned.

Lexie shook her head, "Surely he wouldn't…would he?"

"We'd better not wait and find out," I said as put on my sneakers. "We've got to go after him."


	7. Chapter 7

7. Temporal Paradox

We hit Central Park and split up to look for Noah. I knew from the stories my dad had told me that Prometheus met him, Thalia, and Grover in Heckscher Playground, but Heckscher Playground isn't just a swing set and a few slides. It's three acres of playground, the largest in Central Park, and surrounding it is a complex of softball fields. There was no telling where Noah would be.

I took the west side, Lexie the east near the playground, and Morgan searched north of the playground. I looked high and low for Noah for nearly forty-five minutes and could find no sign of him. I eventually made my way toward the playground itself and found Lexie still searching.

"No luck?" I guessed.

She shook her head, "No, and try to keep your voice down. My mom and your dad are already here." She pointed toward the other side of the playground. "They're in the middle of having their little meeting with Prometheus."

"You don't think Noah's already had a run in with his dad, do you?" I asked.

"Gods, I hope not, but CJ…that may be why we can't find him. If he's made contact with Prometheus…"

The very thought made me feel sick. I didn't know what might happen if Noah came face to face with his father, but I knew it couldn't be good.

Lexie motioned me to follow her. "Come on. Let's go see what Prometheus has to say to our parents. He might drop a hint about Noah, and I'd like to hear what all was said in that parley anyway."

Lexie and I snuck over to where our parents where having their meeting with Prometheus, and we hid behind one of the many large boulders that dotted the playground. We were barely close enough to hear what was being said over at the picnic table. Dad and the demigod with the eye patch were having an argument about respect and revenge. Dad looked pretty angry.

"It bothers you what happened to Luke," Prometheus said to my dad. "Hestia didn't show you the full story…"

The titan reached out to touch Dad's forehead, and I panicked. Lexie had to hold me back, because I was about to tackle a seven foot titan in a tux. I was afraid he was going to hurt my dad.

"It'll be alright, CJ," Lexie whispered. And she was right. Prometheus only had his finger on Dad's forehead for a couple of seconds. It was long enough for Dad to break out into a sweat, but that was it.

"Percy?" Lexie's mom said. "What…what was that?"

What was that? Dad never mentioned that happening to him.

"Appalling, isn't it?" Prometheus said. "The gods know what is to come, and yet they do nothing, even for their children. How long did it take for them to tell you your prophecy, Percy Jackson?"

Undisclosed prophecy. Been there, done that. It's annoying.

"He's playing with your mind," Grover warned Dad. "Trying to make you angry." I could tell by the look in Dad's eyes that it was working. I'd seen that look on him a few times—like when I broke the neighbor's window with a baseball or when I was sent home from school for insulting my world civ teacher—who deserved it. The old bat needed to brush up on her Greek mythology.

"Will you be controlled by your fate?" Prometheus asked my dad. "Kronos offers you a much better deal."

"Yeah, right," Lexie scoffed.

"Tell Kronos to call off his attack, leave Luke Castellan's body, and return to the pits of Tartarus. Then maybe I won't have to destroy him." You tell him, Dad.

The empousa's flaming hair flared up like gasoline had been poured on it. Too bad her whole body didn't go up.

The titan sighed. "If you change your mind, I have a gift for you."

A large jar appeared on the table, and Grover and Thalia wigged out a little when they realized what it was. I already knew what it was; I'd heard this story before.

"As in Pandora's box?" my dad asked.

Prometheus shook his head. "I don't know how all this _box_ business got started. It was never a box. It was a _pithos_, a storage jar. I suppose Pandora's _pithos_ doesn't have the same ring to it." And something about how he said that reminded me of Noah. Maybe it was the dry sarcasm.

Lexie nudged me with her elbow. "Prometheus doesn't seem that bad."

I shrugged. He actually didn't, but he was still the enemy. And he was responsible for ruining Noah's childhood and the reason his mother disappeared years ago. The titan might not have seemed like a bad guy, but he was.

"But what I find curious about the story," he continued. "Pandora always gets the blame. She is punished for being curious."

Now that really made me think of Noah. He mentioned his fatal flaw was curiosity, and that it had gotten him into trouble in the past. I was just hoping his curiosity about his dad hadn't gotten the best of him, because if it had, Noah could be in a world of trouble.

The titan went on, "Only one spirit remained inside when Pandora opened it."

"Hope," I whispered.

Lexie touched my arm. "I've heard enough," she said. "Come on. Let's get out of here. If Prometheus has seen Noah, he's not saying."

She was right. The longer we stayed, the bigger the chance of us getting caught. It was a waste of time. We weren't any closer to finding Noah.

I nodded, "Yeah, let's go search some more."

We headed north as we searched and kept an eye out for Morgan, too. She was supposed to be looking for Noah somewhere in the area. We'd only been searching for about fifteen minutes when we saw Noah and Morgan sitting on a park bench.

"Noah!" I called out, and Lexie and I ran over to them. "Morgan, you found him."

Lexie placed a hand on Noah's shoulder. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I...I'm fine," he said, but he looked exhausted—physically, mentally, and emotionally. He also looked like he didn't want to talk about it or maybe he was already talked out.

Morgan stood up and pulled Noah up off the park bench. "Come on, guys," she said. "Let's get outta here before somebody sees us."

There were still a few hours of daylight left, so we went back to our hotel suite so we could all get a little more rest before we went back into battle tonight. When my head hit the pillow, I was instantly asleep and dreaming…again.

Noah was sitting on the park bench where Lexie and I found him and Morgan earlier.

"Noah."

He looked up to see Morgan walking toward him. "Morgan. What are you doing here?"

"Lookin' for you. You disappeared from the hotel. We were worried."

He shrugged, "I guess I should've left a note."

"And what would it have said? _Gone to talk to my dad. Be back later_."

She sat down on the bench beside him. He wouldn't look at her. It was like he was embarrassed or ashamed.

"Did you see him?" she asked.

Noah sighed. "Yeah."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"I'm such an idiot," he said. "I should've never…"

"You confronted him, didn't you?"

He nodded.

"And?"

"I shouldn't have. I…I ruined everything. All of it, it's all my fault."

"Okay," she said. "So it's all your fault. Wanna tell me what all is your fault?"

Noah closed his eyes, and suddenly it was like I was in his head, like I was reliving his encounter with his father.

The titan looked curiously at the young man standing before him. "You've made a long trip," Prometheus said to Noah, then turned to his companions—a blue giant, an empousa demon with flaming hair, and a traitor demigod, "Will you all excuse me for a moment? I need to have a quick word with the boy."

Prometheus and Noah were swiftly left alone. They didn't take their eyes off one another. "Time isn't something to be messed around with lightly, son," Prometheus said to Noah.

"Don't call me that," Noah spat.

"Why shouldn't I? After all, you are in fact my son…even if I don't know you."

"Well, I don't know you either. That's why I'm here."

The titan shrugged. "I don't often involve myself in my children's lives, what few children I've had…or in your case, will have." Prometheus smirked, "You've got some brass showing up here where you don't belong. I like that. Maybe I _should_ involve myself in your life."

"No," Noah said. "I'm here to tell you to leave me alone. Don't come after me, don't come after my mother, just leave us alone."

"You do understand that by telling me this, you've insured your fate?"

Noah blinked. "What?"

"You've stirred my curiosity in you. I likely would've never given you a second thought if you hadn't come here today, but by doing so, things have come full circle. I _will_ come after you. Count on it."

The image faded back to Noah and Morgan sitting on the park bench. Morgan shook her head like she was trying to figure out what it all meant. "So, you're sayin' that if you _hadn't_ talked to your dad today, _that_ would've created a paradox?"

"If I hadn't talked to him today, if I hadn't provoked him, my life would've probably been a lot different. He probably would've never come after me and my mom when I was little. We wouldn't have had to live on the run." Noah choked up. "And I'd still have my mom."

Paradoxes are confusing, but I think I understood. If we hadn't come to Manhattan to help fight the Titan War and if Noah hadn't confronted his father and warned him not to come after him and his mother in the future, Noah's life would've been so much different; Prometheus would've never gone after him and his mother, and his childhood probably would've been more like mine. He wouldn't have grown up running from his father, and he likely would've never even come to Camp Half-Blood. Us _not_ being here would've been the paradox. If Noah hadn't talked to his father today, he and I would've likely never met. I would've lost my best friend and not even known it.

"But you wouldn't have me," Morgan said. "Or CJ or Lexie. If you'd changed your past, you would've changed the present and the future. Fate and destiny ain't things you can screw around with. It's like Lexie said: _things happen for a reason._"

Noah furrowed his brow. "You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?"

"I knew you were gonna have a tough choice to make. I been seein' stuff in dreams and visions for weeks now, but it was vague." Ah-ha! I knew she was lying to me when she said she hadn't had any visions. "I didn't know it was gonna be anything like this."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"Cause I did see that you were gonna make the right choice."

He shook his head. "How can you say that I made the right choice? I ruined my whole life today. Things could've been so different if I hadn't spoken to my father."

She shrugged. "Different ain't always better. Different ain't always right. You screw with the Fates and they'll find a way to screw you back. Look, nothin's changed, Noah. You're no better or worse off now than you were before."

"Except that I know now that everything my mother and I had to go through is on me. I'm to blame."

"So you had a crummy childhood and maybe you do shoulder some of the blame for it, but you gotta move on. Don't feel sorry for yourself. Buck up and make your future better than your past."

"Easy for you to say. You didn't have to grow up running from a titan."

"My life ain't been sunshine and rainbows either, Noah. I got two demigods for parents and two empowered legacies for brothers. That don't make life easy."

"At least you have a family."

"So do you. What do you think camp is? It's a home, a family…a really messed up family, but a family nonetheless. And you know as well as I do that you're not the only one at camp who's had it rough."

He finally looked up at Morgan. "I'm being a whiner, aren't I?"

"Little bit," she grinned. "But I won't tell nobody."

"I just wish I could've had it both ways, you know? Still have my mother and have you guys, too."

She shrugged. "Maybe you can. You ever thought about tryin' to find your mom?"

"I…I've thought about it, but I'm scared of what I might find."

"You're scared she might be dead."

Noah sighed. "Yeah. If my father tracked her down, I don't know what he might've done when he found her without me."

"But there's always that chance he never found her. You can't give up hope, Noah."

"Hope is all I have, but if I look for her and don't find her, then I'll lose that, too."

"Eh, hope's in a jar somewhere over on the other side of the playground. I don't think it's goin' anywhere."

Noah laughed. "Thanks, Morgan. I needed that."

She smiled, and he began leaning toward her. Holy crap, he was going to kiss her. Go Noah! But then I heard my own voice call out to them, which broke up the moment between them. Uh, my bad.

"CJ," Lexie said, shaking me awake. "CJ, get up. There's an army heading south into Central Park."

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and made my way into the living room. The curtains were pulled back from the picture window, and I could see it was almost twilight. Noah was standing by the window, and I walked over to him. We stood silent for a moment as we looked out toward Central Park and the monster army that was approaching.

"You alright?" I asked him. We hadn't talked about his encounter with Prometheus, but from what I'd seen in my dream, I was worried about him.

"I will be once I get out there and thrash some monsters to blow off some steam."

"From the looks of it, there'll be plenty to thrash."

I walked over to the sofa where Morgan was lacing up a pair of combat boots. She was wearing the Hunter garb that Lexie had snagged last night.

"Halloween come early this year?" I teased her.

"At least I got a costume. What are you goin' as? Daddy dearest?"

She had a point. I could easily be mistaken for my dad out there. I scanned all the junk Morgan had stolen and saw a ball cap. It was a plain, navy blue hat with no logo. I put it on. "There," I said. "I'm just a random camper."

Morgan grinned, "Some things never change."

Lexie walked into the living room and handed me a Dr. Pepper. "Nice disguise," she said, tapping the bill of my new hat.

"No Hunter-wear for you tonight?" I asked. She was wearing jeans and a tee shirt.

"Nope. I'll be a random camper, too."

"So," I said. "What's the game plan? Sounds like you've probably got one."

Lexie smiled, "Sure do. You, Noah, and I are going to Central Park to help in that battle, and Morgan is going to help the rest of the campers guard the other entrances to Manhattan and activate any statues that haven't already been activated."

"Activate? Oh, right, Daedalus."

"I still don't like the idea of Morgan running around the city alone," Noah said.

Morgan rolled her eyes. "I don't need a babysitter, Noah. I can take care of myself. Didn't I prove that last night?"

Noah folded his arms. "I know…but I still don't like it."

"It's the best way," Lexie said. "Morgan can pretend to be a Hunter around the campers out in the city. They'll never know she's not really a Hunter. And the rest of us can stick to helping the Hunters and the satyrs and nymphs while pretending to be campers. We're less likely to arouse suspicion that way."

"If the battle goes anything like the stories, I don't think it'll really matter," I said. "We won't even rate a second glance in the chaos."

"You may be right, CJ, but we should still try to go unnoticed or at least blend in." Lexie grabbed a full backpack and slung it over her shoulder. "Everyone ready."

We each grabbed a pack. "Ready," we confirmed.

"Alright then. Let's go bust some heads."


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: A preview of the summary of _Heroes and Legacies Book 4: Deliverance_ is now up on my bio. -dmac**

8. A Very Nice Maple Tree

Loud. The approaching monster army was anything but stealthy. It sounded like a hundred tanks were mowing their way through the woods north of the reservoir. Noah and I had taken position on the right side of the reservoir near the Hunter's defensive line and Lexie on the left just south of where the Athena cabin had set up their surprise traps along the jogging trail. Morgan had already left Central Park and was somewhere out in the city helping the rest of the demigods.

When the monster army broke through the trees, they split and began making their way down the left and right shores of the reservoir, just like they were supposed to. When they were about halfway across, the party started.

The jogging trail erupted in Greek fire, engulfing many of the monsters. In the woods ahead of me and Noah, the Hunters went to work sending volleys of arrows raining down on the approaching enemy, putting a huge dent into the dracaenae front line. A bolt of lightning streaked through the sky guided by Lexie's mom herself and struck a Laistrygonian giant who instantly turned to ash.

I nudged Noah. "You ready?"

He drew his katana. "Oh, yeah. Let's go slay some monsters."

We charged out of the trees where we were hiding, along with every nature spirit you could think of. They just sprouted out of rocks, trees, and bushes with a roaring battle cry. It was kinda creepy, but the help was certainly welcome, because we were hopelessly outnumbered by monsters. Nature erupted around us. Trees and vines came alive, wrapping around the monsters, grass turned to quicksand, and rocks became cannonballs with a mind of their own.

The enemy pushed forward, their sheer numbers overtaking the ambush. Hellhounds took on the Hunter's timber wolves, and the Hunter's themselves were under heavy fire from enemy archers. I drove my sword into monster after monster, and Noah sliced and diced with his katana, but they just kept coming. Noah would take control of flames from the nearby burning Greek fires and turn them into Molotov cocktails that exploded on the enemy like hand grenades.

He and I stood back to back, trying to stall the advancing line of monsters. "Jesus!" I heard Noah gasp, and I looked over my shoulder to see a titan in gold armor making his way across the reservoir, walking on top of the water. Not Jesus. Hyperion.

Noah flung his arm like he was throwing a football, and the Greek firebomb he was controlling exploded on top of the titan. Hyperion raised his hand and snuffed out the flames instantly.

"Well, that didn't work," Noah said.

"Let my dad worry about Hyperion. Let's just take out these monsters and save as many of our fighters as we can."

I didn't have any powers to use to my advantage in battle, but I did have my sword, which I'd become pretty damn good with since I'd been training with Jason these last few summers, and I had the invulnerability of the curse. I'd learned to protect my Achilles spot during a fight, even without armor, which was helpful considering I wasn't wearing any. I kept Noah at my back. He wasn't invulnerable like I was, so I was going to do everything I could to cover his back.

Noah had the power I didn't have, though, and he wielded it with precision. While I covered him, he used his fire-stealing power to engulf monster after monster, and when fire wasn't an option, he used a power I'd never seen him use before. I knew he had the ability—Lexie told me he did, but this was the first time I'd ever seen him use it. He swung his sword with his left hand and used his right hand like he was reaching out to grab an approaching giant. The ground rumbled and an enormous hand and arm made of earth rose up from the ground at the giant's feet. Noah clutched the air with his right hand; the earthen hand obeyed the command, gripping the giant's ankle and causing it to collapse to the ground where satyrs and naiads began to bludgeon it with their clubs.

It was a really cool trick—Noah's ability to create an avatar from dirt and clay. His father may be a son of a bitch, but Noah sure inherited some wicked powers from Prometheus. Noah was the only demititan I'd ever met or even known of, and he was one of the most powerful campers at Camp Half-Blood. Not many knew that as he didn't show off his powers. Being a demititan, it had been hard for Noah to fit in at camp, and he felt using his impressive powers at camp wouldn't help him fit in any better. I tended to agree. I think it would've made him even more of an outcast. Jealousy over powers was a bit of a problem at camp. Have too much and you were a freak, have too little and you didn't belong. That's just the way it was.

It was different here, though. It didn't matter who you were, what powers you had, or if you fit in. Here, everyone mattered, everyone was needed, and jealousy was nowhere to be seen. In battle, everyone made an impact.

Speaking of impact, I glanced over at the reservoir just in time to be blinded by a column of light that bathed Hyperion and hear the crash of the titan's sword against my dad's. A tidal wave rose around them, spreading across the lake and washing up at our feet. I returned my focus on the battle, and heard a familiar voice calling out orders only a few feet away. It was my mom. I'd recognize her voice anywhere, and not really her voice, just her tone—strategic, confident, and in charge.

"You," she yelled at me, and I panicked a bit. I pulled my hat down to hide my face. "Grover needs back-up on the left flank. Go!"

I did as she said; it would be a hard habit to break. I left Noah with the Hunters and part of the Athena cabin, and I went to the left flank where the other half of the Athena cabin, and more satyrs and nature spirits were regrouping. I slammed my sword home into several charging monsters and was about to take on a charging Hellhound, when an arrow sprouted between its eyes, and the beast collapsed into a pile of ash.

"Lexie," I said.

"Right behind you," she replied. "Where's Noah?"

"Right flank. Where do you need me?"

"Further up the line," she said and waved me to follow her. "Come on."

She fired arrows as she ran, and I hacked my way through a line of empousa demons. High winds began sweeping along the jogging trail, and I grabbed my hat to keep it from flying off my head. I looked out over the water to see my dad standing in the eye of his own personal hurricane.

"Now that's badass," Lexie said, pointing toward my dad.

I shrugged, "He's just showing off."

"Well, I'm impressed."

"Percy!" I heard Grover yell. "Bring him over here!"

"Let's go cover Grover," I said to Lexie, and we took off running toward the satyr.

Lexie and I took up position between the jogging trail and the field where Grover was waiting. We held off advancing monsters and bought the satyrs some time. I had just sliced a dracaenae in half when I saw a gold torpedo flying straight for us.

"Lexie!" I yelled to warn her of the incoming titan in missile form. Her turn was slow, and I acted on instinct. I tackled her to the ground as Hyperion went flying through the air where we'd been standing, his gold armor barely grazing my back before we hit the ground.

I was lying on top of Lexie, probably crushing her, and she coughed as the impact with the ground knocked the wind out of her. Had the circumstances been different, I probably would've been blushing like crazy, but at that moment, I was just thankful she was in one piece.

I rolled off her and lay on my back beside her. "You okay?" I asked.

She took a few deep breaths. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay." She sat up. "You saved my life."

I got to my feet and helped her up. "Eh, you saved my life yesterday. I figured I owed you."

She laughed, then turned her attention to where Hyperion had crash-landed after my dad nearly crushed us with him—unintentionally, of course. "Whoa," she gasped. "CJ, check that out."

Hearing a story about a titan being turned into a maple tree and actually seeing it was two totally different things. Lexie and I watched in awe as the satyrs played their reed pipes, causing the ground around the titan's feet to erupt with roots. The thick, gnarled roots began to snake their way up Hyperion's legs. The eerie melody was hypnotic and drowned out the titan's shouts of protest. He struggled against the roots that were overtaking him, but it was futile. His golden armor was already melting into the wood, his torso becoming a tree trunk. Hyperion's forces were backing up as their leader was quickly being swallowed up. The tree taking over Hyperion's body grew taller and thicker until he was fully encased in a towering maple tree.

I nudged Lexie with my elbow. "My dad asked my mom to marry him under that tree."

She raised her eyebrows. "You're kidding?"

"True story."

"Well, that's…romantic, I guess."

"No, it's not. It's cheesy."

She smirked, "You come by it honestly, then."

I rolled my eyes. "Shut-up."

Cheers could be heard all around us. Everyone was celebrating the victory, but that victory was short lived, because just then…

"_REEEEET!_"

Lexie turned to me and asked, "What the heck was that sound?"

"Flying pig," I answered.

"Flying…the sow!" she gasped.

"_REEEEEET!_"

We looked up to see a pink pig the size of the Goodyear blimp with flamingo wings tearing through the sky. Everyone dove for cover as the giant pig dive-bombed us. Her hooves put craters in the ground, her pot-belly mowed down a half an acre of trees, and the noxious gasses she was belching up was making my eyes water.

Now that the reinforcement had arrived, the titan's army was regrouping. We needed to regroup, too, and regroup fast, but most of our forces had panicked at the sight of a flying pig. I didn't really blame them; I would've panicked, too, if I hadn't already known what to expect. Perk of being from the future.

Our troops looked tired. Everyone had been using their powers and fighting hard, so it was no surprise that they were in bad shape, but they'd have to push past the exhaustion, because we still had work to do.

I ducked as the sow made another low pass, and my dad was suddenly in the air, swinging from a rope; the grappling hook was caught at the base of the pig's wing. Then the pig and my dad were out of sight. Immediately, my mom took charge, shouting orders and getting the troops organized. Her orders: fall back. She was smart, strategic. She knew we couldn't hold Central Park. She knew we needed reinforcements to survive. She knew the other cabins were out in the city, likely retreating from their posts at the bridges and tunnels. The most likely place we would all converge was Midtown, right near the Empire State Building, and that was her order. Fall back to Midtown and regroup. My mom. Smart lady. Even when she was a kid.

It took us a while to get to Midtown, and by the time we got there, the place was a war-zone. So much for regrouping. This was going to be a fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants kinda battle. My dad would've fit right in, but he was nowhere to be seen. I guess he was busy making bacon.

Our forces did their best to organize a defensive line to keep the enemy from closing on the Empire State Building—Olympus. The Hunters set up a line on 37th, some of the Hephaestus campers were leading an army of statues over on Park Avenue, and the Demeter cabin was over on Sixth, turning it into a jungle. Lexie and I found Noah, then we all headed further south, keeping an eye out for Morgan as we went.

We fought the whole time, too. Monsters were coming from every direction. I'd been swinging my sword so hard and for so long that I was afraid it was about to become a permanent piece of my hand.

The hours following our arrival at Midtown were a blur. We raced from street to street and block to block, helping where we could, which was pretty much everywhere we went. It was chaos. The defenses were failing, and campers were scattered—many wounded and just lying in the streets. It was a mess.

As the night wore on, our concerns of staying inconspicuous flew out the window, and by that time, it didn't matter anyway. No one would've noticed us being out of place in the chaos. At that point, they didn't care where the help came from, and we never got a second glance as we fought side by side with the likes of Morgan's parents—Katie and Travis, Lexie's mom, and my parents—Percy and Annabeth. I even bumped into my dad once by accident. He never noticed.

We turned a corner at 35th and Sixth, and there was Morgan. We all breathed a sigh of relief to see her alive and well, especially Noah. He'd been really worried about her the entire time. I couldn't really blame him. We hadn't seen her since we left the hotel, and that had been several hours ago. I was beginning to worry a little myself.

She came running up to us when she saw us. "Gods, where have y'all been?" she asked.

"Where have we not been," I said. "We've been running around like chickens with our heads cut off."

She snorted, "Sounds about right for you."

Noah pointed at the blood on Morgan's shirt. "You're hurt."

"Not my blood," she assured him. "I had to patch-up my uncle Conner. Talk about awkward. The guy kept hittin' on me." She shivered. "Creepy."

"He thought you were a Hunter," Lexie guessed.

Morgan nodded, "Yep. The costume worked great."

There was an explosion south of our position that reminded us we still had work to do. "Come on, guys," I said. "The fight's not over yet."

The main battle was only a block from the Empire State Building now. I noticed Thalia driving back monsters with that hideous shield of hers, Grover was bonking snake-women over the head like a Whack-a-Mole, and Mom was appearing and disappearing at random using her stupid Yankees cap that she never let me wear. Mrs. O'Leary was using a Laistrygonian giant as a Frisbee, tail wagging like crazy the whole time. At least someone was enjoying herself.

We fought and fought hard, but the enemy just kept coming. There were too many of them and too few of us. We couldn't hold the line, and before long, the monsters had us pushed back to the entrance to Olympus. I slashed and hacked and destroyed everything in front of me, but it was no use. We needed help in either the form of the rising sun or the centaurs. Kronos was only a few blocks to the east, riding our way on a golden chariot with an escort of a dozen Laistrygonian giants and two Hyperboreans. We were running out of time.

"Where are you, Chiron?" I muttered to myself. "You're supposed to be bringing the cavalry."

Then I heard it—the hunting horns. The chorus echoed down the streets and off the buildings, drowning out the noise of the battle. It was the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard. The Party Ponies had arrived.


	9. Chapter 9

9. The Last Olympian

The monster army surrounding us froze at the sound of the horns. Seconds later they were retreating. They knew our reinforcements had arrived. The horns continued to blare, the ground began to shake, and the air ripped open as the Party Ponies appeared out of nowhere like they'd just dropped out of warp.

I met a few centaurs last summer in Miami. I got a ride back to camp on a centaur named Fred. I wondered if he was here with the Party Ponies. I'd be hard to tell. There were hundreds of centaurs in the Party Pony cavalry, and they all were as eccentric as the three I met last year. They were whooping and hollering like a bunch of wild banshees. They wore neon war-paint, some had on Afro wigs, and they all fired arrows onto the enemy—thousands of arrows.

Chiron looked like he always did, except for the armor. I don't recall ever having seen Chiron in armor until that moment. He usually wore an orange camp tee shirt or tweed. Seriously, who the hell wears tweed anymore? Anyway, Chiron was clearly the ring leader of the centaur circus that had just rolled into town. He marched into battle with his brethren, and when the enemy had been pushed back a few blocks, he ordered the Party Ponies to hold, and the ranks of centaurs began to fall back, letting the army flee. It was basic battle strategy. If our forces had pursued, they'd get too spread out, and we really needed to regroup.

As the enemy retreated out of Midtown, our forces began setting up a two-block perimeter around the Empire State Building. Things were beginning to calm down, and Lexie, Noah, Morgan, and I needed to get out of sight before we were noticed.

Too late. Chiron, apparently looking for my dad, caught a glimpse of me, and he did a double-take when my mom and dad came running up to him. I used the distraction to duck around the corner of a building and out of Chiron's line of sight. I looked so much like Dad that even Chiron could've mistaken me for him at a distance. I just hoped he didn't read too much into seeing two Percys. Yeah, fat chance. This was Chiron we're talking about.

"He saw you, didn't he?" Lexie guessed.

"Who?" Noah asked.

"Chiron," I said. "I think Chiron saw me and thought I was Dad there for a second."

"Godsbedamned, CJ!" Morgan scolded.

"We need to get out of here," Lexie said urgently.

"How? There's a perimeter. There's no way we can get out without being noticed," Noah pointed out.

"We'll just have to find someplace here within the perimeter to hide out," I said.

A smile began to creep across Lexie's lips. "I know a place. But we might have trouble getting there. It's swarming with demigods right now."

"Where is this place?"

"The Empire State Building," she said.

I blinked. "You want to hide out at demigod-central?"

"Trust me," she smiled.

"Okay, so how do we get in? A distraction maybe?" Noah asked.

Noah got his distraction in the form of a mechanical drumbeat in the sky.

"Is that a chopper I hear?" Morgan asked, scanning the Manhattan skyline.

We all looked around the corner of the building to see a dark red helicopter with a "DE" logo on the side approaching our position.

"It's Aunt Rachel," I said.

"The Oracle?" Morgan asked.

"Well, she wasn't the Oracle yet, but yeah."

"Uh, guys," Noah said as he pointed toward the chopper. "I think that helicopter is about to crash."

The chopper had pitched forward and began to careen sideways. I stared in fascination. It was a bedtime story come to life…kinda like this whole quest.

"Just watch," Lexie told Noah.

We watched, along with everyone else, as a white pegasus carrying my parents flew toward the out-of-control helicopter. It all happened so fast: the chopper pitched, the white pegasus—Guido, I think—slammed into it, Mom leaped for the door, and Dad and the pegasus plummeted toward the ground. It was both horrifying and spectacular—one of the coolest things I'd ever seen. It was like watching an action movie.

"Can she fly that thing?" Noah asked, mildly panicking. "And what about your dad?"

"Dad's fine, curse of Achilles and all. And Mom can do just about anything."

She didn't make a liar out of me. The helicopter righted itself, hovered, and began a slow decent.

"Hey, guys," Morgan said. "If we're goin' to the Empire State Building, we should do it now while everybody's distracted."

We took-off swiftly through the crowd of gawking demigods, Hunters, and centaurs. We followed Lexie into the Empire State Building, and when we stopped, we were looking at the elevator that led to Olympus.

"Oh, you've got to be joking," I said.

"Come on. No one will see us there. I know a place in Dad's palace where we can hide and get some rest."

"You've been to Olympus?" Morgan gaped.

"Yeah, a bunch of times," Lexie said like it was no big deal. "You haven't?"

"Hell, no, I haven't." Morgan turned to me and Noah. "Have y'all?" she asked.

Noah and I both shook our heads. Lexie was the only one of us that had ever been to Olympus. She was the only demigod among us four, too, so that probably explained it.

The doors opened, and we quickly got into the elevator. When the doors shut, Lexie slipped a keycard into the slot.

"Where'd you get that?" I asked.

"What? My keycard? I always carry it. Right next to my driver's license, library card, and SPQR student ID."

I almost asked what a SPQR student ID was, but I figured it must've had something to do with her attending school at the Roman camp when she wasn't at Camp Half-Blood. It was kinda like her boarding school. She and her Uncle Jason and Aunt Calypso would go out to California for the winter. Jason was a former praetor of the legion and was a trainer there like he was at our camp. Lexie was a legion centurion herself, though she often told me she liked Camp Half-Blood much better. She was Greek, not Roman, so that didn't surprise me.

There was some funky disco music playing in the elevator, and Noah was tapping his foot nervously to the beat. Or he was trying to keep with the beat, anyway.

"You okay?" I asked him.

"I don't know about all this, CJ. I'm a demititan. I'm not meant to go to Olympus. Especially now, seeing as this is the _Titan War_."

Crap. I didn't think about that.

"Olympus is deserted. The gods are out fighting Typhon," Lexie said. "It'll be fine, Noah."

"If you say so," he nodded, but didn't really sound convinced.

I don't know what I was expecting to see when those elevator doors opened, but _depressing_ was what I saw. The streets were deserted, no fires lit the many braziers, and doors were barred and boarded up. Everyone had evacuated in anticipation of the battle making its way up here.

As we walked through the eternal city, we noticed a few injured demigods were in a park where Apollo campers were busy setting up a field hospital. As Lexie led the way toward Apollo's palace, she mentioned how different Olympus looked here in the past. She bragged about how beautifully my mom had redesigned the place. In a few hours, this city would be trashed, and afterward, my mom would be given the privilege of redesigning and rebuilding Olympus. Mom talked about it all the time; it was a great honor for her—one of her greatest achievements, second only to her family she'd said.

"There it is. Dad's palace." Lexie pointed to a beautiful marble palace on a rolling hill, but I was focused on a different and grander structure—something I'd seen in a dream, and I knew inside the structure was the throne room. I began walking toward it.

"CJ, where are you going?" Noah asked me.

"I…I think I need to go to the throne room," I said as I kept walking.

"The throne room, why?" Lexie asked as they followed me.

I didn't answer her, because, well, I didn't have an answer. I didn't really know why I needed to go there, but I had this gut feeling that I should. In my dream of the throne room, Hestia was there, and she told me I wasn't supposed to be there. Maybe I wasn't, but I felt like I was supposed to go there.

When we reached the bronze doors, they creaked open, and inside was the gigantic room I'd seen in my dream. Constellations dotted the ceiling, great thrones sat on the expansive marble floor, and in the center of the room was a hearth with only a faint glow of dying coals. The little girl in brown robes never looked toward us; she only shivered and stared at her dwindling fire.

The goddess sighed. "Do you not heed my warning?"

"You sent me that dream," I guessed. "Not the Fates."

"I don't see the whole of the future or mold it like the Fates do, but there are things I see—things that pertain to my realm of home and family, and I'd say this whole adventure has been quite the family affair for all of you. I sent you that dream as a warning. I'd hoped you would've taken it to heart, but I see that you are as stubborn and reckless as your father."

I didn't know whether to be insulted or proud. "I thought you liked my dad."

"I do. A brave hero, Percy is, but that doesn't mean he's not irrational at times."

I shrugged. "Can't argue with you there."

"Come," she waved us over to her hearth, and we obeyed.

The hearth fire was so faint, only a slight flicker of flame was peaking out from the coals.

"May I, my Lady?" Noah asked, pointing toward her fire.

The goddess nodded, and Noah took control of the fire, giving it a little boost. It wasn't much, but Hestia warmed her hands over the new flames.

"Thank you, Noah Hawkins. I have a feeling you and I will come to know each other well."

Noah bowed his head. "We will, my Lady."

I wasn't exactly sure what that was all about, but I got the feeling this wasn't the first time Noah'd had an encounter with the goddess of the hearth.

A cloud of smoke formed over the hearth fire, and images began to form in the smoke. They were horrible images of death and destruction. Cities burned, people were panicking, and the sky grew darker than any night I'd ever seen. It was as if the world was ending and all hope was lost.

"What is this?" Lexie asked of the images.

"This is what could be," Hestia said. "Not from this war, however. From another war, a war that—unlike this one—_is_ your responsibility." That last bit was directed at me.

"You're talking about the Rebellion," I said.

"You must get back to your timeline and deal with your own prophecy, Chase Jackson. The mortal enemy will grow strong. You'll face great challenges very soon. You'll want to quit, but you mustn't. You can't lose hope. It's not just the fate of the Olympians and their descendents that is in your hands, but the fate of the whole world."

"No pressure there," I grumbled.

"Ah, but see, like your father, that is when you're at your best. That is when you are all at your best. As descendents of the gods, that's what you are built for."

Tools of the gods—that's what demigods and legacies were. I'd always known it. It had been drilled into my head for forever, but until that moment, it didn't really sink in what that actually meant. We weren't made to do the gods bidding; we were made to save the gods. We were their heroes—heroes of the Olympians, heroes of the world.

Great, keep piling on the pressure.

"How do we get back to our own time?" Morgan asked the goddess.

"The same way you got here," she answered. "The door opens both ways. But be aware, because the Lord of Time grows stronger, the gate to the future will not open. Kronos must be defeated for you to get back to your own timeline. Now you four must go. Rest, then rejoin the fight. Ensure that you're able to go home."

I bowed my head to the goddess. "Thank you, Lady Hestia."

None of us said a word as we left the throne room and walked toward Apollo's palace. Lexie led us through a backdoor and down a stone staircase. We were under the palace in what looked like a dormitory that had been recently abandoned. We stopped in a long hallway lined with numbered doors—odds on the left, evens on the right.

"Servant's quarters," Lexie said. "We can rest here."

"What, we can't rest up in the main part of the palace?" Morgan complained.

"Sure, if you want to get blasted to bits," Lexie said. "Dad may be fighting Typhon right now, but he'd still know if uninvited guests were squatting in his palace. He won't notice us down here."

Lexie and Morgan took rooms two and four, and Noah and I took rooms one and three. Mine and Noah's rooms were adjoined by a bathroom, and I assumed the same went for the girl's rooms. The rooms themselves were fabulous. Apollo sure knew how to treat the help. Persian rugs covered the stone floor, and beautiful tapestries adorned the walls. A king-size mahogany four-poster bed was the focal point of the room and opposite the bed was a huge flat-screen TV.

I kicked off my shoes—I didn't want to ruin the priceless rugs—then tossed my pack onto the bed where I went through it. I was looking for a change of clothes since the clothes I was wearing were in tatters. I heard the shower start up, and I figured Noah had the same idea I had: clean up, eat, and sleep. While Noah was in the shower, I ate a couple of bananas and drank a bottle of raspberry sparkling water that I'd found in the mini-fridge that was in the room. I hope the tenant didn't mind. I left a drachma on top of the fridge anyway.

I had just finished eating when Noah stuck his head out of the bathroom door and into my room. "Shower's free," he said.

I grabbed my spare clothes then hit the shower. The warm water felt good on my skin as it washed away so much monster ash and grime that the bottom of the shower was black with it. Once I was clean, I changed into my fresh clothes that had been stolen from a department store somewhere in Manhattan. The jeans were a little long so I had to roll them up, but the gray New York Yankees tee shirt fit, though I felt dirty wearing it. I was a Mets fan, not a Yankees fan.

When I curled up into the bed, the memory-foam mattress cradled me into sleep immediately, and I began to dream.

I was in an elevator, easy-listening music was playing, and standing next to me was my dad. It was that typical awkward elevator ride. We were two sixteen year-olds who were father and son, sharing an elevator to the 600th floor of the Empire State building; it was brutally awkward. We didn't look at each other, only peeked glances out of the corner of our eyes, and we didn't speak. I picked at the hem of my tee shirt to have something to do with my hands, and Dad examined the pithos he was holding to distract himself from my presence.

Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore; I turned my head and took a good look at him. I thought it'd be like looking into a mirror, but it wasn't. There were subtle differences that, to me, made us look a lot different. I was taller than Dad by about two inches, his eyes were green where mine were gray, and his face had a more weathered and mature look than mine. Rugged was how he looked.

"Nice jar," I said about the pithos.

He looked down at the jar then at me. "Thanks," he said. "It's not actually mine. I'm just keeping it safe for the time being."

"Ah," I nodded. "Well, it's in good hands then."

He shrugged, "I guess so."

It was silent between us for a few moments before Dad turned to me and said, "I uh, I was wondering why you're here."

"Do you know who I am?" I asked him.

"I have a pretty good idea."

"Uh, well, I didn't plan to be here. It just kinda happened," I said.

He shook his head. "I don't think I want you to be here."

"Why not?"

"This isn't your fight, kid. It's mine."

"But I can help," I protested.

"You want to help?" He handed me the jar. "Here, take this and keep it safe."

"You're trusting me with this? With the world's hope?"

He looked into my eyes for the first time and gripped my shoulder like he'd done all my life, a touch that was so familiar. "I'm my world's hope, and you're your world's hope. Don't mess it up, kid."

I woke to a banging sound. Someone was pounding on the door to my room. I scrambled out of bed and opened the door. It was Lexie.

"What?" I asked. "What is it?"

"We've gotta get back to Manhattan," she said. "It's the drakon."


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Okay guys, I know it's been a while since I've updated, and I know this chapter is short. Apologies in both regards. Lately I've been busy developing my sci-fi original which I'll be writing for NaNoWriMo. I wanted to go ahead and get this chapter up, because it may be several more weeks before I update again as this fic will be on the back burner during NaNo. **

**As I was finishing this chapter, which, as you know the setting is Manhattan, I was saddened. I visualize the city in my head as I write the places the characters see—the Hudson and East Rivers, Battery Park, Lower and Midtown Manhattan, Central Park, and the Empire State Building. Seeing the images of the destruction Hurricane Sandy brought to the area I'm writing about saddened me a great deal, and I want to send my best wishes to those who were affected by the storm. -dmac**

10. I Really, _Really_ Hate Snakes

When she said drakon, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I was really hoping I'd get to sleep through that particular battle. No such luck. See, I had this problem. Lexie called it a phobia, and maybe it was. I hated snakes—hate, hate, hated snakes. I wouldn't say it was a fear, but I definitely didn't like the slimy, slithering, creepy bastards. And the drakon was a snake. A two-hundred-foot-long snake as big around as a semi-trailer with razor sharp teeth that could chomp through a dump-truck and frightening yellow eyes that gave you the urge to bend over and kiss your ass goodbye…and the kicker—it was poisonous. Its venom could melt through armor and burn a person to a crisp. Not to mention its scales were like titanium, which made it almost impossible to kill. _Whee_!

I tried not to imagine the serpent as we made our way back toward the elevator that led to Manhattan. Instead, I kept my mind on anything else. I noticed that Morgan was no longer wearing Hunter clothing. She'd changed into a pair of yoga pants and a tank-top. She had her curly brown hair up off her shoulders with a clip, and the cuts and scrapes on her arms were beginning to scab. Noah had changed into a pair of black BDUs and a plain white tee shirt. His light-brown hair was nearly in his eyes. The guy really needed a haircut; it was beginning to look as messy as mine.

I focused most of my concentration on Lexie. I mean, can you blame me? She was beautiful. Her brown hair with blond highlights was up in a ponytail, which showed off that long sculpted neck of hers. She was in jeans and a tank-top that exposed her arms that glimmered. Her eyes, her smile…

_Get control of yourself, CJ!_ I mentally slapped myself. _This is not the time or the place to be swooning over Lexie!_

We _finally_ reached the elevator, but I was hesitant to get in.

"Uh, you comin'?" Morgan asked me.

"Sorry," I said as I slowly entered the elevator. "I just had a dream about this elevator."

"Bad dream?" Noah asked. "It didn't plummet to the basement, did it?"

I cracked a grin. "No, Noah, nothing like that. Dad—teenage-dad—and I had a strange conversation here. You guys don't think that…that he knows…"

"CJ," Lexie said. "I had a dream that my teenage-mom was telling me I'd have a life-altering decision to make soon."

Morgan shrugged, "And I dreamed my parents from this timeline—who are younger than me here, by the way—were tellin' me that I had to do everything I could to keep my brothers safe."

"Sometimes a dream is just a dream, CJ," Lexie said. "Your subconscious was probably giving you the type of advice your dad would've given and shaped it into a dream of him."

"So you don't actually think our parent's subconscious were there in those dreams with us. They weren't shared dreams?" I asked.

"I ain't ever heard of shared dreams," Morgan said. "But if you figure out how to do it, let me know. That could be kinda…kinky."

I turned to Morgan with my jaw hanging slightly open. I didn't know what to say to that.

"Oh, don't look at me like that," she said and gave her eyebrows a little wiggle. "Like you ain't ever had a wet dream."

I'm not sure how red my face was, but I was betting it was as red as Noah's, which was fire engine red, and the heat in my cheeks would've rated near the top of the Scoville heat scale. Thank the gods the elevator doors opened. I never would've thought I'd long for a snake, but after that elevator ride, the drakon was a welcome opponent. Morgan had just embarrassed the hell out of me, so maybe the drakon would put me out of my misery.

As we stepped out of the elevator, a girl with frizzy red hair was walking toward us. It took me a second to recognize her; it was Rachel, and she was holding a familiar ceramic jar—Pandora's pithos. Rachel never looked at us or said a word as she entered the elevator after we'd exited. She was concentrating on the jar, and her eyes were bright green. I'd only ever seen one other pair of eyes that looked like that, and those were Morgan's eyes—the eyes of a seer.

The elevator doors shut, and Lexie turned to me. "Um, is she gonna be alright? She didn't look so good. Did you see her eyes?"

I wasn't sure if she was alright or not. "She kinda looked like she was in a daze," I said.

"I should go back to Olympus," Morgan said. "I should keep an eye on her, especially since she's got that jar."

"Why you?" Noah asked.

"Because I know what she's goin' through. I've been there and done that. Learnin' that you're a seer and what that means can be a little overwhelmin'. I'd hate for her to do somethin' rash."

We all nodded in agreement. I wasn't sure how Aunt Rachel handled the realization of what she was, and Morgan was the only one of us that really understood what was happening to her.

"Watch your back up there," Noah said as Morgan stepped into the elevator.

"Will do," she nodded. "Y'all be careful, too. Oh, and by the way, CJ's gonna have a panic attack when he sees the drakon."

"I won't have a panic attack," I insisted.

She grinned as the elevator doors began to close. "Yeah, you will."

She wasn't lying. When we stepped out of the Empire State Building, I had a full-blown panic attack: heart racing, hyperventilating, tears nearly in my eyes, the works. The curse of Achilles may have made my body invulnerable, but not my mind, and my mind was telling me to run away screaming like a little girl.

I'd seen Mom have similar reactions to spiders; they terrified her. She said they don't bother her as much now as they used to. She could've fooled me; she still freaks out.

I closed my eyes tight and took a few deep breaths. _You can do this_. I gave myself a pep-talk. _You can do this_.

When I opened my eyes, Mrs. O'Leary went bounding past us. The sight of the familiar beast shook me out of my startled state. I assessed the situation now that I could focus. The drakon was slithering down the side of a building, and from the north, an enemy battalion slammed into the Party Ponies who were having their own little panic attack at the sight of the drakon. When our lines broke, the drakon took advantage. The giant serpent lunged and inhaled three centaurs whole.

Mrs. O'Leary growled then leaped onto the drakon. She looked like a puppy against the sheer size of the snake. She clawed and bit at the monster, but she couldn't penetrate the thick scales. She was able to knock the drakon off the side of the building, though, and the serpent went crashing onto the sidewalk. It squirmed like a garden snake that had been poked with a stick, and thrashed its head trying to bite the hellhound that was on top of its head. Poison spewed from the drakon's mouth, melting centaurs, enemy monsters, and the pavement. It all happened so fast that neither Lexie, Noah, nor I had even had a chance to take a step toward the battle.

"Noah," Lexie said. "You and CJ help the centaurs. The enemy is going to make for the entrance to Olympus. Push them back."

Noah and I nodded, and I asked, "What are you going to do?"

She raised her bow. "Kill everything I can."

Noah and I advanced with the centaurs and campers while Lexie found herself a perch where she could rain down arrows on the monsters. Fifth Avenue was a mad-house. Not only was there an enormous snake spitting venom and taking chunks out of buildings and the street, but a horde of demons were engulfing our forces. I was driving my sword into monsters, and Noah was using his fire-stealing power to throw wave after wave of fire-bombs at the enemy. We were doing all we could, but the enemy was just too much. It wouldn't be long before we were pushed back to the doors of the Empire State Building.

I glanced over at the battle with the drakon, hoping I wouldn't start hyperventilating again, and I saw my dad dragging my mom away from the serpent. She must've fallen. It was a good thing he was there, too, because the drakon suddenly rolled and would have crushed her if Dad hadn't been there to save her. In return, she tackled him to the ground as the serpent's teeth snapped above his head. The drakon would've decapitated him if Mom hadn't been there to knock him out of the way.

I took a hard hit to my left shoulder while I was distracted watching my parents save each other's lives. It didn't hurt or break the skin, but it knocked me off my balance and ripped the sleeve off my tee shirt. The demon struck me again, taking advantage of my loss of balance, and I fell to the ground, cracking my back on the steps. Again, it didn't injure me—curse, you know. I rolled to avoid a club that the demon was swinging down at me while simultaneously swinging my sword, which clipped the demon's chicken legs—literal chicken legs—knocking it to the ground beside me. I jabbed my celestial bronze sword into the demon's torso, and it screeched before turning to dust.

I took a breath and was about to get back to my feet when I felt an earthquake. It actually wasn't an earthquake; it was a chariot—a dozen chariots in fact. The war chariots pulled by skeletal horses with manes of fire were flying the red banners of Ares.

I rose to my feet and joined the centaurs and campers cheering at the sight of reinforcements. We'd desperately needed them. Leading the charge was a girl in red armor holding a spear crackling with electricity. She led half the chariots toward the drakon and the other half came barreling toward us to help in our fight against the monster army.

Two chariots that were approaching the drakon crashed, but the girl in red kept charging the giant snake, followed by three other chariots. The charioteers flung javelins at the drakon while the other charioteers rallied our forces at the doors of the Empire State Building. Our line went back to work slashing and hacking up the monsters that were making their push into Olympus. Lexie was still raining arrows down on the enemy, Noah was slicing and dicing the demons with his katana, and I sank my sword into every monster within reach. I wanted to get across the street where my parents were so that maybe somehow I could warn them about the ruse. But getting across the street wasn't going to be easy or quick. Hundreds of monsters stood in my path.

"Lexie!" I called. "Lexie!"

"I hear you!" she called back from about fifty yards away.

"Can you get over to the other side of the street?" I asked.

"I can try. Why? What's up?"

I pointed toward the battle with the drakon that was raging across the street. "I need you to warn them that the girl in that chariot isn't a daughter of Ares. She'll die if we don't do something."

I'd heard this story from my parents many times, and they told it differently. Dad always told of a brave daughter of Aphrodite who righted her wrongs by bringing help and sacrificing herself. "She died a hero," he'd always say. His story was one of forgiveness. Mom, however, wasn't so forgiving in her story. The high cost of betrayal was the lesson her story bestowed.

Lexie hesitated before calling back, "I'll do my best."

Lexie wasn't as forgiving as me. Unlike me, compassion wasn't her fatal flaw. She could make the tough decisions. Her position may very well have been that the traitorous daughter of Aphrodite was going to get what she deserved. I don't hold that point of view against Lexie. Most people would feel that way about someone whose actions had cost many lives, but I couldn't just let her die if I could do something about it.

It was all a moot point anyway. Lexie didn't make it to the battle with the drakon in time. I heard the girl in red armor scream as the drakon spit its poisonous venom in her face. She hit the ground, and I lost my breath. If I'd just thought about it sooner, if I'd warned someone—anyone—the daughter of Aphrodite that helped Lexie save my mom's life wouldn't be dying right now. I failed; the girl was going to die, and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it.


	11. Chapter 11

11. The Lord of Time

My mom ran to the girl in red armor while my dad kept the drakon's attention on himself. I tried to watch the scene unfold, but I was so busy trying to keep the monster army from invading Olympus that I couldn't keep my attention on the scene across the street for long.

"Whoa, look at that!" Noah shouted. He was only a few feet to my right, and I looked around to see what he was talking about. It was a flying chariot.

The chariot landed in the middle of Fifth Avenue, and its driver, the true daughter of Ares, jumped out and ran toward the dying girl. It was a heartbreaking scene, one I hoped I'd never have to experience first hand, but with the rise of the Rebellion, it was one I was unlikely to avoid.

The daughter of Ares held the daughter of Aphrodite in her arms as other campers gathered around them. The moment was short lived, because the drakon turned on them and barred its fangs, preparing to attack the group. The daughter of Ares wasn't going to let that happen.

I could hear her yelling from across the street. "YOU WANT DEATH?" she screamed at the drakon. "WELL, COME ON!"

She grabbed a spear, and with no armor and no shield, she charged the drakon. The children of Ares were certainly brave. She dodged the snake's bites as she charged, and when she was close enough, she drove the electric spear into the drakon's undamaged eye. The giant serpent shuddered and smoldered as countless volts of electricity arched through its body. Smoke bellowed from the snake's mouth and its flesh dissolved until there was nothing left of the drakon except a hollow shell of armor-like scales. She'd killed the beast so quickly and with a single blow; I was utterly impressed, but the daughter of Ares didn't seem to care that she'd just single-handedly slain a drakon. She was only concerned for her dying friend.

I couldn't watch the scene unfolding across the street. I knew what was happening; I'd heard the stories, which had given me nightmares. I knew the daughter of Aphrodite was going to die right there on the street, and I didn't want to watch it happen. Instead, I focused on the battle still raging right in front of me. I still had plenty of monsters to slay.

I continued to slash and hack at the enemy. Noah had worked his way over to me, and we were now fighting back to back. His katana and my xyphos worked like the blades of a food processor, chopping up everything around us.

It wasn't long before we got some help driving the enemy away from the Empire State Building. The daughter of Ares who had just slain the drakon and lost her friend, rode her chariot into battle and began crushing everything in her path. She was a beast, and her bravery and drive sent our troops rallying. In no time, the enemy was retreating toward 35th street, but the daughter of Ares was just getting started.

She hitched the hollow carcass of the drakon to her chariot with a grappling line and began dragging it down the street behind her chariot. It reminded me of the kids in my neighborhood dragging tin cans behind their bicycles, only on a much, much larger scale. She charged after the enemy, yelling and screaming and daring them to take her on. A red aura was glowing around her like flames—the blessing of Ares. For the moment, she was as invincible as I was. The enemy retreated while the chariot dragged the shell of the giant serpent up and down Fifth Avenue.

The battle had wound down, and Noah and I regrouped with Lexie. We ducked out of sight around the corner of a building and sat on the ground to rest. I noticed Lexie had a trickle of blood streaming down the left side of her face and neck.

"You're hurt," I said to her.

She wiped at the blood. She had a cut along her hairline at her left temple. "It's not bad," she said. "Enemy archer got me with a glancing blow."

Noah pulled a plastic bottle from a pocket of his pants and handed it to me. "Nectar," he said.

I made Lexie take a drink as I brushed her hair away from the wound. She gave the bottle back to me, and I poured some nectar directly onto the cut on her head. It began to close up immediately.

I smiled. "It's looking better already."

She returned the smile. "Thanks, CJ."

"I don't know about you two, but I'm exhausted," Noah said as he leaned back against the wall of the building. "I'm not conditioned for this pace of battle."

Lexie nodded. "Apparently we don't train enough at camp. We'll have to change that when we get back."

I didn't particularly like the idea of piling on even more training at camp, but I agreed it needed to be done. Camp had gotten a little lazy this summer since nothing eventful had happened. I was out of shape. I didn't hurt, my body didn't ache, but I was tired. We couldn't afford to be fatigued in situations like this. And if the Rebellion kept at us like they had been, we'd need to be a lot more prepared than we were now. This battle was a wake-up call, letting me know we weren't ready to face the Rebellion head-on. They'd kick our asses.

We sat there on the ground for a while to catch our breath. About fifteen minutes had passed when Morgan turned the corner and came running up to us. "There y'all are," she breathed a sigh of relief. "I was gettin' worried. I couldn't find y'all."

"How'd it go on Olympus?" I asked.

She sat down on the ground with us. "Fine, I guess. Rachel was still a little dazed when I left, but your parents showed up, so I figured they could handle it from there. I needed to get outta there anyway. It was gettin' crowded up there."

"A lot of wounded?" Lexie asked her.

Morgan nodded. "More than not. Those Apollo kids are doin' triage up on Olympus, but they're overwhelmed. I wanted to help, but it was just too risky. My mom was up there helpin' out."

"You don't look much like her," Noah randomly observed.

"Who?" she asked. "My mom?"

Noah nodded.

She shrugged. "I favor my dad."

In more ways than just looks, I wanted to say.

"My brothers look more like Mom."

Suddenly, a loud explosion followed by panicked screams brought us to our feet. We ran toward Fifth Avenue where the sound was coming from and saw the Titan army once again making a push toward the doors of the Empire State Building. There were so many of them and so few of us that I had little hope that we'd be able to hold them off. Dad had always told me that the battle felt hopeless at times, but until now I didn't realize just how hopeless he meant.

We joined a line of campers, Hunters, and centaurs in an attempt to keep the enemy from advancing. We were in for the fight of our lives. We were outnumbered a hundred to one, and even with the children of Ares now in the fight, there was no way we were going to come out victorious, especially since my parents and Lexie's mom were nowhere to be seen. They must've still been up on Olympus.

We fought. I used every available strategy at my disposal, including using my own body to protect my friends. Campers and Hunters were falling like dominoes around us, and the centaurs were retreating in panic. Winning or holding the line was a lost cause. Surviving the battle was the best we could hope for at this point. The Ares kids were our best chance of survival, but when the ferocious daughter of Ares that had slain the drakon became frozen in a block of ice by a Hyperborean giant, I knew it was time to retreat. We didn't stand a chance, and if we were going to live, we had to run.

I was about to grab my friends and make a break for it when I noticed the Lord of Time himself approaching. Kronos and his vanguard strode up to the Empire State Building just as my parents stepped out. The only thing standing between the Titan and my parents was the single centaur left in the battle. It was Chiron.

My heart skipped a beat…or ten. My trainer and mentor had his bow drawn with an arrow aimed straight at Kronos. The Titan ignored Chiron and turned his attention to my father whose body instantly froze. I bolted toward my dad. Well, that was the plan anyway, but my feet wouldn't move. Every muscle in my body was frozen in place. I couldn't move an inch nor could anyone else. The Lord of Time had us all stopped dead in our tracks.

"Step aside, little son," Kronos said to Chiron, and though I knew they were father and son, it was still weird to hear the Titan—who was wearing the body of a guy in his early twenties—call Chiron son.

"I'm afraid not," Chiron said, his voice was calm, but I knew he was angry. I'd heard that particular tone from him before and knew exactly what it meant.

"Chiron!" my mom's voice rang. "Look out!"

The dracaena queen that was part of Kronos's entourage charged at Chiron. He let his notched arrow fly, and it struck her right between the eyes. She vaporized on the spot. I wanted to pump my fist in excitement, but alas, my body was still frozen in place.

Chiron had to draw his sword because his quiver was empty. He was a good swordsman, better than he gave himself credit for, but it wasn't his weapon of choice. Chiron was an archer first and foremost, but he was skilled in all types of weaponry.

Kronos laughed at Chiron and took a step toward him. Chiron's tail flicked nervously.

"You're a teacher," the Titan sneered. "Not a hero."

"Luke was a hero," Chiron said.

Luke Castellan, the corrupted son of Hermes who was playing host to Kronos. My parents never talked about Luke much in their stories, even though everything that happened back then essentially revolved around him and the choices he'd made. I think it was just too hard for them to talk about him directly. I don't think they wanted to relive the demise of their one-time friend. I don't really blame them.

"FOOL!" Kronos's voice roared. "You filled his head with empty promises. You said the gods cared about me!"

"Me," Chiron noticed. "You said _me_."

Well, that was interesting. Luke must not have succumbed to Kronos's full influence. He was still in there somewhere.

Chiron took advantage of Kronos's confusion and struck the Titan, but in the young demigod's body, Kronos was quick. He knocked Chiron's sword away and yelled, "_BACK_!"

A searing white light exploded between Kronos and Chiron, sending the centaur flying into the side of a building. He hit it with so much force that the wall crumbled and collapsed on top of him.

"No!" I yelled and could hear my mom yelling the exact same thing.

Luckily, I was far enough away from the action that no one paid any attention to my outburst. My feet started working again at that moment, and I felt someone grab the back of my shirt to stop me from running toward where Chiron had fallen.

"Don't, CJ," Lexie said as she pulled me back by my shirt, and she had to keep pulling and grab me by my arms when I saw my mom draw her dagger and go after the Titan.

"Mom, no," I gasped and tried to fight my way free from Lexie's grip.

As I struggled against Lexie, I watched my mom sink her blade between the straps of Kronos's armor. The dagger didn't penetrate. Instead it bounced off, and she doubled over. She was hurt.

"Let me go, Lexie!" I growled.

She got her arms around me and turned me to face her. Her look was stern but reassuring when she said, "Your dad's got her. She's okay."

I could hear Mom screaming behind me. "I HATE you!" she yelled. I think she was yelling at Kronos, but she could've been yelling at Dad, too.

I was breathing heavily and trying to calm myself. Lexie still had me by the arms to keep me from doing something stupid, like revealing myself to the past. I concentrated on Lexie, not turning around to look at what was going on between my parents and Kronos.

"She keeps getting hurt," I sighed. "Everybody keeps getting hurt. I hate this."

Lexie took the hat off my head, cupped her hand around the nape of my neck, and brought my forehead down to rest on hers. "I hate it, too, but we can't let it get to us. We can freak out later. Right now we gotta push through the bad stuff and keep going."

She was a rock—so tough and strong. I wished I had her strength. I took a breath and looked into her deep blue eyes. They were reassuring and calm, and I totally lost myself in them…until a howling dog brought me back to the real world.

"_Arroooooooo!_" Mrs. O'Leary's howl echoed.

Lexie and I turned toward the sound to see the hellhound and a small figure in black armor standing between a parted monster army. I blinked. The figure in black was the son of Hades himself, Nico di Angelo.


	12. Chapter 12

12. All Hades Breaks Loose

My Uncle Nico wasn't really my uncle. He was actually my second cousin on the godly side of the family tree. I'd just called him Uncle Nico since I was a little kid. He and Aunt Rachel—who wasn't really my aunt either—were good friends with my parents, and I'd grown up with them pretty much acting as my uncle and aunt. I had two real uncles, Matthew and Bobby, but I hardly ever saw them. Uncle Matt lived in Arizona and Uncle Bobby in California.

Nico strode forward between the monster army that had parted for him. The guy radiated death—he always had. It took some getting used to. He was wearing a badass skull-shaped helmet, but you could see the kid grinning through the face guard.

"Is it too late to join the party?" he asked.

"Oh, my gods," Noah gaped and pointed at the son of Hades. "That's…that's Nico. He's…so little."

At that point I giggled a bit. I couldn't help it.

"What's so funny?" Lexie asked me.

"The image of Nico wielding a sword in his judicial robes just flashed through my head." These days Nico wasn't the Prince of Darkness so much as a judge in the juvenile court system. Yep, that kid would grow up to be a lawyer and a judge. Who would've guessed?

Lexie looked at Nico and blinked when he drew his Stygian iron sword. She shook her head. I guess the image flashed in her mind, too.

The ground began to rumble and cracks began to spread across the street, sidewalk, and buildings. Skeletons began to claw their way out of the fissures in the ground. There were thousands of them. It was an amazing if not disturbing sight.

"Death Boy's got some serious mojo," Morgan observed.

"HOLD YOUR GROUND!" I heard Kronos yell to his army who was backing away. "The dead are no match for us."

Then everything went dark. The sky turned black, and the shadows seemed to come alive, darkening the street. A horn sounded ahead of a huge chariot that was barreling down Fifth Avenue. The chariot was the epitome of darkness—black obsidian with shadow-horses, and the Lord of the Dead at the reins.

I'd never seen Hades in person until then. He was terrifying in his black armor and red cloak, but the worst was his helm of darkness. My curse didn't protect me from the helm's power to reach into my mind and twist my thoughts into something my worst fears and nightmares couldn't even touch. It was a horrifying experience that made me want to breakdown and sob. I think everyone, including the enemy, was having the same experience, because they all looked like they were only a few seconds from bolting from the scene.

I closed my eyes tight for a few seconds to clear those horrifying thoughts from my mind. When I opened my eyes, I focused on the chariot's other occupants: Demeter and Persephone.

"Wow," Morgan said quietly. "Mom looks a lot like her."

"Wait," I said. "You've never met your grandmother?"

She shook her head. "No. I've never met Hermes, either. Does that surprise you?"

I thought about it. She was a mortal legacy, which—to the gods—was insignificant. She was nothing special to them, even after she became the Oracle. I'd only met my godly grandparents a few times and probably would've never met them if I hadn't been the child of prophecy.

I shrugged. "No, I guess not."

"Hades," Kronos growled, and I turned my attention back to the titan and god. "I hope you and the ladies have come to pledge your allegiance."

"I'm afraid not." Hades sighed. "My son here convinced me that perhaps I should prioritize my list of enemies."

"Go, Nico," Noah smiled. I think he was enjoying seeing Nico be so influential. Noah and Nico had become close in the past year. I'm sure Nico had told Noah stories about this moment.

Hades drew his black and silver double-edged sword. "Now fight me!" Hades yelled at Kronos. "For today the House of Hades will be called the saviors of Olympus."

Kronos snarled, "I don't have time for this."

He slammed his scythe into the ground, and a crack appeared, spreading out and around the Empire State Building. The air shimmered along the crack in the ground; he was creating a barrier around the building and the spell over the rest of Manhattan was disintegrating; people were waking.

It was too late to run for the building. We were trapped outside the barrier while our parents were inside with Kronos and his vanguard. I gripped my sword tightly and pulled my hat down a little more. I knew all hell was about to break loose.

Hades crashed his chariot into the wall of force that was surrounding the Empire State Building. The wall didn't budge, but the chariot overturned. He blasted it with black energy, but it had no affect. There was no getting on the other side.

"ATTACK!" Hades roared.

And _that's_ when all hell broke loose. Armies crashed together and innocent mortal bystanders who had just woken from Morpheus's spell screamed and ran in panic. No telling what the Mist manipulated the battle into, but I'm sure it was damn scary.

We began fighting with Hades's army. I got backed right up to the force wall where I heard a voice gasp, "What in Hades?"

I turned to see the traitor demigod with an eye-patch standing beside me, just out of reach on the other side of the barrier. He blinked, turned and looked at my dad, then looked back at me. He blinked again. "Two Percys?"

I grinned. "Makes you wanna cry like a baby, doesn't it?"

"Nakamura," Kronos called to the stunned eye-patch guy. "Attend me."

The kid took one more good look at me, then turned tail and ran to his master.

I went back to fighting. The monster army was still overwhelming—even now that we had reinforcements. There were just so many monsters in Kronos's army, and though we now had an army of the dead, we were still outnumbered.

I surveyed the scene to see where I was needed most, and I did a double take when I saw that two mortals that had just woken from their slumber had joined the fight. Two mortals who looked strangely familiar. Two mortals who were…holy crap, it was Nana and Grandpa! And they were so young. Nana's hair wasn't gray, and Grandpa Paul actually _had_ hair. Grandpa was wielding a sword and Nana had a shotgun in her hands. It was pretty awesome.

Now, Grandpa Paul knew about all the gods and monsters stuff, but he wasn't a clear-sighted mortal like Nana, so I was really impressed to see him joining the fight and with a sword no less. I never knew they picked up arms in this battle. Dad never told me.

"Percy," Nana yelled to Dad. "We'll be fine. Go!"

"Yes," Nico agreed. "We'll handle the army. You have to get Kronos."

In just a moment, my parents disappeared into the Empire State Building, and I knew that would be the last time I ever saw them in this timeline. As much as I wanted to follow, I couldn't. They'd win this one without me, anyway. I need to stay behind on the ground to help save as many lives as I could.

We fought what still felt like a hopeless battle. My friends and I stood in a circle, our backs to one another, and took on the enemy that was ringed around us. Nico was fighting alongside my grandparents further down Fifth Avenue, and Hades fought from his chariot, summoning waves of zombies to take on the seemingly endless forces of the Titan's army. And on top of the fighting, the mortal world was awake and terrified. The mortals of Manhattan were running for their lives and destroying the city in the process. Even more disturbing than all of that was the sound that was approaching the city from the west.

It sounded like a thunderstorm, and it was quickly pushing toward Manhattan. I knew what it was, and it was far worse than any thunderstorm. It was Typhon, and the gigantic monster and the gods who were fighting him would be in Manhattan soon. I could already see the western sky lighting up from Zeus's thunderbolts.

The monster army began to back off in anticipation of Typhon's arrival. The enemy didn't want to be destroyed during Typhon's barrage on the city. Little did they know, Typhon would never make it to the city.

The monster was so enormous that I could see him over the Manhattan skyline. I could also see the gods fighting him from their chariots. They were little flashes of silver and gold and red that zipped into the cloud that surrounded Typhon and attacked the monster within. Explosions and fire flashed inside the cloud, and suddenly a blast lit up the world. The shockwave from the thunderbolt Zeus had fired at Typhon shook the ground beneath my feet and the sound of thunder broke windows in the buildings around us.

The monster roared in anger, but kept on coming. The gods were having little impact on the monster's progression, but that all changed when Typhon stepped into the Hudson River. That's when my grandfather, Poseidon, went to work.

The river erupted like a geyser all around Typhon, and out of the churning water came a new chariot—Poseidon's chariot. My grandfather rode a circle around Typhon's legs, his chariot glowing with a blue aura. As the chariot circled, a funnel cloud developed around the monster.

"NOW, MY BRETHREN!" Poseidon roared. His voice was so loud that I heard it all the way in Midtown. "STRIKE FOR OLYMPUS!"

An army of Cyclopes burst out of the Hudson, and leading them into battle was my Uncle Tyson. And he was huge. He was a big guy anyway, but he'd somehow magically grown into a thirty foot giant.

The Cyclops army carried enormous lengths of black chains and grappling hooks, and they swung them like lassos, snaring Typhon's legs and arms. The monster roared and tried to break free, but there were too many chains.

Poseidon threw his trident, piercing Typhon's throat. A golden stream of ichor poured from the monster, and the trident flew back into my grandfather's hand. He was such a badass. I wished I knew him better. I think we would've gotten along great.

Following Poseidon's lead, the other gods struck with renewed force. Balls of glowing light slammed into Typhon as the Hudson River rose, wrapping the gigantic monster in a blanket of filthy water. The weight of the chains and the barrage of the gods were wearing on Typhon. He bellowed in agony and thrashed with anger as he began sinking into a whirlpool that would take him straight to Tartarus. Then the monster's head went under, silence fell, and he was gone.

The gods disappeared, too. They'd gone to Olympus. I'd been so wrapped up in watching Typhon that I hadn't noticed that most of the Titan's army had been either destroyed or had retreated. We were finally winning for a change.

I felt someone grip my shoulder and turned to see Lexie. "Hey," she said. "I think it's over. I think Kronos has been defeated."

I looked toward the Empire State Building and saw that the barrier Kronos had made earlier was gone. My parents did it. They defeated the Lord of Time, which meant we could finally try to get back to our timeline.

"We should probably get back to Montauk now," I said.

"Do I get to steal another car?" Morgan asked hopefully.

"Sure, why not?"


	13. Chapter 13

13. Lessons Learned

Final Chapter

You want to talk about a nightmare? Getting out of Manhattan was a nightmare of epic proportion. Imagine one enormous pile-up over the entirety of Manhattan Island and every bridge and tunnel leaving the city, plus millions of panicking people running around chaotically; that's what we had to deal with. The only way off the island was on foot, so we pushed our way through the crowd and walked out of the city.

The Williamsburg Bridge was impassable thanks to my dad, so we walked across the Manhattan Bridge to get to Long Island. Once there, Morgan was able to steal a compact car and we began the long drive back to Montauk.

Morgan drove, which I was grateful for, because I was exhausted. I likely would've fallen asleep at the wheel had I tried to drive. Lexie must've been even more exhausted than me, because she was asleep in minutes. She slid over in the backseat and her head came to rest on my shoulder. I waited until Morgan and Noah weren't looking, then kissed her head and fell asleep myself.

I dreamed of an army. Not surprising, really, since I'd just battled an army of monsters that nearly killed us all. The army in my dream wasn't a monster army, though. It was a mortal army—the Rebellion.

"_The cursed one with pure birthright will sink to lows and raise to heights,_" a voice recited the first line of the great prophecy in my head. It was Morgan's voice.

"_The mortal enemy will rock the core of love and family with seeds of war_," Lexie's voice rang.

Then I heard Noah's voice. "_The loss of a hero will bring to light the need to choose fight or flight._"

Then another girl's voice spoke in my mind. It was a voice I'd never heard before. "_Friend's and enemy's views must bend or see a war without an end._"

I hadn't forgotten those lines since the moment I heard them for the first time. They actually haunted my dreams. It was my prophecy, and it was my responsibility to see it through. I wasn't sure what it all meant yet_,_ but I was determined to figure it out.

I was running out of time, though. The Rebellion was growing stronger and bolder. I mean, they sent the four of us back in time so that maybe we'd destroy ourselves and the world. If that wasn't brazen, I don't know what was.

It was time. As I stared out at the army of mortals, I knew it was time for me to dig in my heels and take charge at Camp Half-Blood. As the child of prophecy, it was my job, after all. I hadn't really taken on the responsibilities like I should've. I just wasn't ready, but now I knew that it didn't matter if I was ready or not. I was being thrown into the deep end of the pool, and it was sink or swim time. The battle I'd just been a part of in Manhattan was a learning experience for me. It was a lesson in war—war that we as a camp weren't at all ready for. Now I realized I had to prepare my people for a war that—no matter how much I wanted to stop from happening—I knew was coming.

Hestia warned me. She showed me horrible images of death and destruction. Cities burning, people panicking, and the blackest sky imaginable. It was the image of a dying world, a world where all hope was lost. It was a war—a war she said was my responsibility. She told me it was time for me to deal with my own prophecy. I'd put it off long enough. It was time for me to be a man, to fill my father's shoes at camp. It was time for me to be the hero the Fates knew I could be.

I woke as the car came to a stop in the parking lot at Camp Hero State Park. Lexie was still asleep on my shoulder.

Morgan looked into the backseat and cooed, "You two are so cute."

I rolled my eyes at Morgan. "You should've seen us when we were eight." Then I whispered to Lexie, "Lexie. Hey, Lexie, wake up."

Her eyes fluttered open, and she lifted her head off my shoulder. "I was dreaming," she said.

"Good dream?" I asked.

She smiled. "It was, actually. First time for everything, I guess."

"We're here," I told her. "It's time to go home."

We walked toward the radar station where we'd been transported back in time, and I wondered if we'd actually be able to get the time travel machine to work. And even if we did, how could we be sure it would send us back to our own timeline? I didn't want to be stuck here. I'd had enough of this crummy weekend vacation in the past, and I wanted to go home. I wanted to get back to a time when my parents were really my parents and not just teenagers who were only beginning to fall for one another. It had been neat to observe them here in the past, and I admired them even more after what I'd seen, but the thought of being stranded here without the parents I knew and loved…it really scared me. What would we do if we couldn't get back?

The door to the radar station was still unlocked, and we walked right in. We made our way down the staircase and into the room where the transport happened.

"Well, what now?" I asked.

Morgan sat down at the computer and examined the screen that was still lit up. "This is one old computer."

"Can you figure out how it works?" Noah asked her.

"Uh, maybe. Gimme a minute." She typed on the antique keyboard for a few minutes then said, "Okay, I think I got it. I just gotta enter the date here, let it load, then hit execute. It should work."

"Should work or will work?" I asked.

Morgan shrugged. "Hell if I know, CJ. I ain't a antique computer expert. I'm makin' my best guess here. You think you can do any better?"

I shook my head. I knew I couldn't do any better.

Lexie shrugged. "Let's give it a shot."

Lexie, Noah, and I stepped up onto the platform that was the transporter, and that's when I heard a noise. It was the sound of creaking door hinges.

"Did you guys hear that?" I asked.

Lexie already had her bow drawn, and Noah was drawing his katana. I guess they heard it, too. I pulled my pen from my pocket and transformed it into my sword.

There were footfalls coming down the stairs and a voice rang out, "Hello? Park security. Anyone down here?"

"Shit," Morgan whispered. "This piece of junk's still got a few more minutes of loadin' time. We gotta stall."

The security guard stepped into the bunker where we were, except he wasn't a security guard. He was a young guy, maybe twenty at the most, and he was wearing street clothes, not a guard uniform. He had a handgun drawn and a flashlight shining on us. There was something familiar about him. I'd seen this guy a couple of times—once in a warehouse in Georgia and again in the Florida Keys. He was a member of the Rebellion.

"Drop your weapons!" he shouted urgently when he saw us. "Drop them right now or I'll shoot!" He could see our weapons for what they were. He had clear-sight.

"Do what he says, guys," I said to my friends as I put away my sword.

"What's going on down here?" the guy demanded with his gun aimed directly at me.

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you," Noah said to him.

"Actually, I think he would," I said.

"He'd believe we're from twenty-five years in the future?" Morgan asked. "That we were transported back in time here in this bunker, and now we're tryin' to get back to the future?"

I nodded. "He'd believe it, because he's from the future, too. He's with the Rebellion."

"So, you recognize me?" he smirked. "Good. At least you know who's about to kill you."

He wasn't lying, either. He was about to kill us all. I had to do something to stall him. "But Barka wants me alive, doesn't he?"

The gunman gave me an evil grin. "Barka's not here."

"Why are you here?" I asked, still trying to stall until the computer could load our destination.

"I'm here to ensure you never make it back to your own timeline. Barka's not stupid. He knew you'd try to get back. He sent me here to stop you."

I cut my eyes toward Morgan. "Has it loaded yet?" I asked her.

She looked down at the screen, and the guy turned his gun on her and yelled, "Don't touch that computer!"

"I ain't touchin' it!" she yelled back. "Calm down."

"Back away from the computer," he ordered her.

Morgan stared down the gunman. "Make me."

"_Morgan_," Noah hissed under his breath. "Don't provoke him."

"We don't have time for this," Lexie grumbled and took a step forward, which set the gunman in defensive-mode.

Instinctively, I sidestepped so that my body was positioned between Lexie and the gunman, and that's when the gun went off. The bullet shot from point-blank range hit me somewhere in the chest (a few inches lower and it would've hit my Achilles spot, killing me) then ricocheted into the computer screen, which shattered on impact and began to smolder. The force of the round hitting me knocked me back into Lexie, and we both collapsed to the floor.

"What in the hell?" I heard the guy gasp. I don't think he was expecting a bullet to bounce off me.

Morgan took advantage of the distraction and kicked the gunman in the side of the knee. He crumpled, screaming in pain. She probably broke or dislocated his knee. She also kicked the gun away from him so he couldn't fire on us.

She rushed for the platform, yelling, "Transport in progress!" She must've hit the button just in time.

As soon as Morgan was on the platform, we were once again bathed in a gold shimmering light, and I began to feel groggy. I heard more gunshots, but no rounds were penetrating the golden aura around the platform. Suddenly, the light flashed white, and then I blacked out.

When I came to, we were still in the bunker on the platform. The gunman was nowhere to be seen, and I wondered what the consequences would be of him being left behind in the past.

I helped everyone to their feet, and we walked out of the building and into the fresh air. I took a deep breath to clear my head.

"Did it work?" Noah asked me. "Oh, and by the way, you just got shot at."

"Uh, I actually got shot, but the bullet bounced off my chest. And I'm not sure if it worked or not," I said as I looked around. It was dark, probably the middle of the night. "Let's take a look around."

We walked through the park toward the parking lot where I'd left my Jeep. Stages were set up throughout the park, which was a good sign that we were back in our own timeline. When we got to the lot, my Jeep was sitting right where I'd left it.

"Thank the gods," I breathed. "It worked. You did great, Morgan."

"I know," she smirked. "I'm the best."

We loaded up in my Jeep, and I drove back to my parents' beach house. Everything was right where we'd left it. I checked the digital clock in the kitchen, which read: Sunday August 17, 3:15 a.m. We'd only lost a day.

"I'm goin' to bed," Morgan yawned. "I think I could sleep for a week."

"I think I'm going to hit the hay, too," Noah said.

They went to their rooms leaving Lexie and me alone in the living room.

"Some vacation, huh?" I said.

"It wasn't exactly what I was expecting," she said.

"Sorry. I never imagined anything like that happening when I planned the trip. I guess I should've expected that everything would go wrong. We did break camp rules after all."

"You think it was karma?"

I shrugged. "Maybe, or maybe it's just my incredibly bad luck that's to blame."

"Well, we did have one good day, at least."

I smiled. "Yeah, we did."

"Do you remember the last time we were here together?" she asked as she looked out at the moonlit beach through the sliding glass door.

I remembered it like it was yesterday. "I remember you got stung by a jellyfish. You cried so hard."

"It hurt, CJ. And I was only eight, so cut me some slack."

I walked over and stood beside her. "You were so mad at me, because I never got stung…or I did, but the curse protected me."

"I think I punched your Achilles spot to make up for it."

I nodded. "You did. You called it payback."

She laughed. "Do you remember what you told me after that?" she asked. "After Mom poured nectar on the sting, and I finally stopped crying."

I didn't remember. "What did I say?"

"You said you would give me your curse if you could, so I'd never get hurt or cry again."

Wow, that was a good line. I couldn't believe eight-year-old-me was that smooth. I guess the truth could sound really good sometimes.

"I meant it, you know," I told her. "I'd do anything to protect you, Lexie."

She turned and looked right into my eyes. "I know," she said and touched her fingers to my chest where I'd taken a bullet for her. "I know."

My heart was racing. She was so close, and I wanted to kiss her so badly. I just had to lean in and do it.

"I'm going to bed, CJ," she said before I got up the nerve to kiss her. "Good night."

I watched as she walked toward the spare bedroom. "Good night," I said finally.

She looked back at me, smiled, then went into the room, closing the door behind her. My hormones were screaming at me to follow her, but I couldn't do that. I shook my head to clear it then went to the bathroom where I took a long, cold shower, after which, I hit the couch and fell into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

None of us even stirred until after three in the afternoon. We were beat, and the rest was much needed. Once we were up and around, cleaned up, and fed, we started the trip back to Camp Half-Blood. We'd only been gone for three days, but it felt like months. I was ready to get back, even though I knew we'd be in so much trouble when we did.

The sun was getting low in the sky when I pulled my Jeep into camp's van shed. As we were about to walk back into camp, Chiron stepped into sight. Uh-oh.

"I certainly hope you four enjoyed your little getaway," he said. His voice was calm, but it had an undertone of anger and disappointment. "Because the rest of your summer will be rather unenjoyable."

"Chiron, I—" I began.

"I don't want to hear it," the centaur interrupted. "You four are counselors. You're supposed to be setting an example for the other campers, but instead, you break the rules and run off to do gods only know what. I couldn't even get an Iris message out to any one of you. Do you realize how worried I was?"

"We're sorry, Chiron," Lexie said.

"Sorry's not going to cut it," he said. "Girls, dish duty for the rest of the summer, and boys, latrine duty. I want those bathroom floors scrubbed with a toothbrush. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," we all said.

"Dismissed."

We began walking away, but Chiron called to me, "Chase, a word."

I told the others to go on, that I'd catch up with them later. When Chiron and I were alone, I asked, "You needed to talk to me, sir?"

He tapped the bill of the cap on my head. "Nice hat," he said. "Lose your Mets cap?"

I was still wearing the navy blue hat I'd been wearing during the battle in Manhattan. "Uh, not exactly," I said.

"Chase, I've been around for thousands of years, and over that time, I've developed a strong mental discipline. There are few things I've ever forgotten…like seeing you in that hat once before."

Oh, crap. He'd seen me at the battle. He knew. "I…I, uh," I stuttered. I didn't know what to say.

"You were there during the Titan War. I never realized that it was you until I saw you in that hat just now. Tell me what happened this weekend."

I hesitated telling him. I didn't know if I should. We'd agreed to tell no one about our time jump, because we didn't know what the consequences might be. We'd been lucky enough not to create a temporal paradox while we were in the past, and I didn't want to create some sort of paradox here in the present.

"You can tell me, Chase. I already know you were there."

I told him everything, and afterward, he rubbed his beard and looked like he was in deep thought. "Interesting," he said finally. "The Rebellion was responsible, you say?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"And the young man who shot you?"

"Also Rebellion. He got left behind. I don't know what the consequences might be here in the present because of it."

"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough," he said then rubbed his beard again. "Well, it seems the Rebellion is becoming an even larger threat."

"Yes, sir, they are, and we, as a camp, aren't at all prepared to deal with them. We need to train harder and longer and hone our skills and instincts, because if I learned anything from fighting in the Titan War, I learned we aren't ready for battle."

"It sounds like you're ready to take your place as the leader here at camp," he said.

"I am," I confirmed. "This weekend was a learning experience for me. It's prepared me for what I have to do."

"It's not an easy job, but I'm certain you can handle it as well as your father did."

I shrugged. "I can only hope."

He smiled and put his hand on my shoulder. "It takes courage to face your destiny head-on. You will make a fine leader, Chase Jackson."

"I'm honored you think so," I said. "Uh, does this mean I'm out of latrine duty?"

"Absolutely not."

**AN: I want to thank all of the readers and reviewers for taking the time to read **_**Timeline**_** and for all the wonderful reviews. I truly appreciate every single one of you. I also want to apologize for the slow updates throughout the duration of this fic. I had a lot going on while I was trying to write it. It took me much longer to complete than I'd anticipated. **

**Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this third installment of **_**Heroes and Legacies**_**, and I hope to see everyone back for book 4. The first chapter of **_**Heroes and Legacies Book 4: Deliverance **_**will be published in a week. I already have five chapters of that book complete, and I hope to update it weekly. A new character will be introduced in **_**H&L 4**_**, so I hope everyone will return to meet her. The summary for **_**H&L 4**_** is on my bio. Again, thanks for reading and for all the support. -dmac**


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